Decorated evergreens appeared in German and Baltic guildhalls in the 15th and 16th centuries, where apprentices and children collected sweets hung from them at Christmas. After the Reformation, wealthy Protestant families brought the custom into their homes as a counterpart to the Catholic nativity crib, and it spread through Europe in the 1800s. The tree reached Vienna in 1814 during the Congress of Vienna and was introduced to France in 1840 by the duchesse d'Orleans. Early trees were lit with real candles, later replaced by electric lights once electrification spread. Some researchers also link the custom to medieval paradise plays performed on 24 December, where a fir hung with apples represented the tree of knowledge.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.