Christmas trees and decorations

It is in Alsace, in the Humanist library in Sélestat, that the first mention of the sale of Christmas trees is to be found in the city archives. It dates from 1521. Alsace is the cradle of the Christmas tree...

The existence of decorated trees in Alsace dates back from the Middle Ages. On Christmas Eve, an evergreen tree was placed in the choir of churches. In a play about Adam and Eve, it represented the paradise tree and bore apples as a reminder of the fruit of temptation. Wafers were added later to symbolise hosts, which are signs of redemption.

Gradually, the parishioners replaced the branches of fir trees with whole trees decorated in this way, probably in the early 16th century. The first Christmas trees were … hung from the ceiling with an apple at the base, or were decorated with small red “Christkindel” apples.