Oh, Zagreb Christmas trees!

In fact, you might notice, when you stroll through Zagreb Christmas markets, that the Christmas trees in front of some churches continue without ornaments before Christmas Eve. However, most of us are impatient and put up a tree weeks before Christmas. The same goes for the city of Zagreb; you will notice dozens of cheerful decorations on evergreen branches everywhere you go.

I can never get enough of the festive atmosphere at the main square. Photo by S. Cerić Kovačević / Zagreb Tourist Board

The tree at the main square is the largest and most impressive. It often has a special meaning hidden, too. For instance, when the war in Ukraine broke out, the tree bore blue and yellow decorations that showcased Croatian friendship and support for Ukraine.  

All of the decorations you can spot in the modern era would have been unusual some 200 years ago. Back then, people didn't even have a proper tree. They had a rich bundle of green branches that usually hung above their eating table. It was decorated with colorful paper flowers, walnuts, or the so-called salon candies—hard candies wrapped in shiny paper.  

Traditional Christmas ornaments. Photo by Boška i Krešo / Zagreb Tourist Board

The Christmas tree first entered the homes of the wealthier families in the second half of the 1800s. So did the elaborated ornaments. The famous shopping street Ilica was full of sparkling shop windows and stalls filled with ornaments. Most families would stop by each stall, trying to choose the most beautiful one, as they could only afford one yearly. That's why the Christmas trees, up until recently, had a variety of ornaments - since each year you afforded just one, and it was a special one. Each of them contained a story about excitement, impatience, thrill, joy, content, planning, time spent together - believe it or not, all of that could once fit a single Christmas ornament.

A classy balcony gets classier with this xmas tree. Could this be the prettiest one? Photo by J. Duval / Zagreb Tourist Board

Another essential part of decorating a Christmas tree was, in fact, under the tree crown: the nativity scene. This is lost in many families, especially in a big city like Zagreb. However, if you walked past the main square a hundred years ago at the beginning of December, there would be a huge fair where they sold kipeki - figurines for your nativity scene. Again, families bought just one per year. When they came home and set up their nativity scene, they were absolutely delighted by the newcomer to the holy family.

So far so good - most Christmas decorations have always been enchanting. But not all. How about this? At a certain point in history, there was a custom to put a fresh onion at the top of the Christmas tree! The onion would grow its vines around the tree by the time the holiday season was over. The vines' size and length could easily predict how fortunate your family would be throughout the year.

St Mark’s Church, my favourite Christmas tree & the lamp lighter. Photo by J. Duval / Zagreb Tourist Board

My favorite Christmas tree is the one at St Mark's Square in the Upper town because it's adorned by some symbols of Zagreb. Notice the figurative Lotrščak tower (the home to the Zagreb cannon that fires daily at noon) and the iconic Zagreb funicular. Finally, red hearts hang from the branches, too. This region's oldest souvenir and favorite Christmas ornament is the little red licitar heart. Don't forget to take one home with you - you can find them in all the souvenir shops. Put the heart on your Christmas tree back home. You'd be surprised to see that the little heart, even if it doesn't fit your other decorations, holds a handful of memories from your Christmastide visit to Zagreb.

Genuine Zagreb Christmas trees are plane trees from Zrinjevac park. They ceremonially open up Advent Zagreb when they light up. Photo by J. Duval / Zagreb Tourism Board

Header image credit: J. Duval / Zagreb Tourist Board

Author: Iva Silla