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The Week in Germany: Christmas in Germany November 25, 2005 Germany's Christmas markets Twenty-five years ago, the famous "Christkindlmarkt," or Child Christ Christmas market, in Nuremberg was the undisputed main attraction of the Christmas season in Germany. These days, however, it has plenty of serious competition.
Every year, the centers of around 100 German towns and cities are filled with the alluring aroma of mulled wine, gingerbread cakes and roasted almonds. Rows of little wooden booths line the historic squares — each of them offering tasty seasonal snacks or handmade gifts. Christmas markets start up just before the first Sunday in Advent, and most of them remain open until Christmas itself. They have become a major magnet not only for Germans, but for visitors, too. The "Striezelmarkt" in the eastern city of Dresden looks back on an especially long tradition. "The stallholders were opening for pre-Christmas business here as far back as 1434," says Christoph Muench, who works for the city's promotion department. Not far away, Leipzig is also proud to offer one of the most extensive Christmas markets in the land. It boasts 260 stalls — and one of country's largest free-standing Advent calendars. The streets in the center of the northern city of Hamburg are also bustling with Christmas cheer. The traditional Christmas market was established here by the nostalgic Roncalli Circus with the grand setting of the town hall as a backdrop. Visitors to the capital Berlin can choose between a number of different Christmas markets, and in Cologne, there are hundreds of stalls to browse along, most of them in the shadow of the imposing Gothic cathedral. The atmosphere at the Christmas market in the historic center of the old mining town of Annaberg in Saxony is particularly special. "At this time of the year, the whole area is usually carpeted with powdery white snow," said one market organizer. To top it off, on the fourth Sunday in Advent, around 1,000 men don the gala uniforms traditionally worn by miners to stage a parade through the town. The Christmas markets in the picturesque smaller towns around Germany are renowned for their cozy atmosphere. A delightful example can be found in Michelstadt in the wooded Odenwald district of Hesse. The wooden stalls line the streets around the half-timbered town hall, which dates back to 1484, and offer all manner of seasonal snacks and handicrafts from the region. Its no coincidence that churches and market squares are often the most popular locations for Christmas markets. It follows on from a tradition which began in the Middle Ages, when the markets supplied the everyday needs of local people. The glittering attractions on show today first appeared when people began to decorate their Christmas trees at home and went out in search of pretty items. Christmas markets are no longer confined to Germany either. In the Japanese city of Osaka, visitors can attend a traditional German Christmas market complete with the country's largest Advent calendar. In Chicago, more than a million people are expected this winter for the tenth Christkindlmarkt to be held there. Links:
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