Ever Wonder About the First Christmas Tree? Riga, Latvia Officially Has the Honor. TRAVEL SNOB TRAVEL BLOG

Like Santa Claus, the history of the first Christmas tree is combination of many different facts, legends and customs all originating in the Baltic countries and what is now Northern Germany. However, a wide variety of sources agree that the first tree appeared in Riga, Latvia early in the 16th century.

There has been some confusion involving Martin Luther, but according to Countess Maria Hubert von Staufer from Christmas Archives International (we believe it's good policy to defer to a Countess in such matters), Luther's famed walk in the forest and tree lighting actually occurred in Northern Germany several decades later.  Detailed records in the Latvian State Archives indicate that an influential fraternity of young, unmarried merchants and ship captains in the Hansa cities, known as the House of Blackheads, was actually responsible for the tree. (Their name derives from their patron saint, an imaginary African moor known at St. Maurice.) The Blackheads were an integral party of society, and many VIPs of the period, including Russian tsars, participated in Blackhead-organized events - including the first documented use of a tree in a Christmas celebration in 1510.

To celebrate the recent designation by the European Union as the supa'official (and trademarked) "Home of the First Christmas Tree", fun activities and tours are being planned to re-create the feel of medieval Riga so many years ago - a mashup of folklore, pagan and Christian traditions, as well as a visit from St. Nick himself. 

For more info, visit FirstChristmasTree.com.

- The Travel Snob