Riga and the First Christmas Tree
Legend surrounds the first decorated evergreen tree, for which Latvia has been credited.
Eastern European history is uncertain whether Riga, Latvia can be appropriately credited with the first decorated tree that started this Christmas tradition.
The most common legend about the first Christmas tree is about Martin Luther, and his walk through a forest in Riga, where he spied the stars shining through the prickly boughs of an evergreen tree. Supposedly, Martin Luther brought the tree home and decorated it with candles to simulate the effect of stars. Or to explain to his children how stars twinkled. Or maybe he decorated it with lights in order to illustrate the “majesty of Christ’s birth.” This may or may not have occurred in 1510. And it may or may not have occurred in Riga, or even Latvia (maybe Germany).
The sources that attribute Latvia with having begun the Christmas tree tradition seem to be mainly PR websites for Latvian tourism or derived from a similar source. I have yet to find any scholarly articles that have given credit to this claim. However the idea that the “first” Christmas tree evolved out of pagan traditions seems more likely than the story about Martin Luther.
Pagan rituals and practices in Eastern European history have long been adapted to suit Christianity’s needs. The Christmas tree tradition is likely no different. Yule, as a winter sun-welcoming ritual, may believably be a precursor to “Christmas” trees, as logs were burned in fires during this season to encourage thaw. A tree decorated with flowers is said to have been burned in Riga in 1510. In addition, Town Hall Square in Riga contains a memorial to the “first New Year’s Tree” erected in 1510.
Somewhere, the legends have become convoluted, and the Martin Luther story has conveniently been intertwined in order to bring the ideas of Christmas and decorated trees together.
