Christmas markets can be found in big cities, Munich, Stuttgart, Berlin and Hamburg, and in midsize and small towns ranging from Affing and Aichach to Zweibrücken and Zwingenberg. These markets offer baked goods, sweets and toys and feature local and regional specialities.

Christmas markets have a long history. The Dresdner Striezelmarkt is first mentioned in 1434. Handcarved Erzgebirgsfiguren (figurines from the Iron Ore Mountains) are the specialty there, miners, pyramids, nutcrackers and Rauch- (Räucher-) männchen (smokers).

Nurembergs's Christkindlesmarkt (Christ Child Market) is the most famous and one of the oldest. The first official record of this pre-Christmas market dates to 1628. A list of notices for stallholders from 1737 shows that nearly all of Nuremberg's craftsmen were represented. Back then 140 persons were given the right to sell their wares. In 1998 there were 190 stalls with 200 stallholders.

Over the last decades the arrangement and decoration of the market have become particularly attractive so that it has won renown and popularity far beyond the bounds of the city itself. From early December to Christmas Eve the wintry air is filled with the aroma of Stollen (baked fruit loaves), Bratwurst, gebrannte Mandeln (roasted almonds), and Lebkuchen (gingerbread), a spicy cookie. The recipe for Lebkuchen is a treasured secret and includes nuts, eggs, honey, sugar, flour, and cardamom, clove, cinnamon, and coriander. The spices represent a time when Nuremberg was a center for the spice trade.

In early November, as soon as the regular fruit and vegetable stalls are removed from the Hauptmarkt (main market square), knocking and hammering can be heard as craftsmen put up the timber cabins that serve as booths. Their sturdy wooden construction is well suited for food and beverage stalls and as retail shops, even in very harsh weather conditions. Awnings provide shelter for passers-by and those who eat or drink in front of the cabins.

City streets leading to this outdoor market are decorated with white poles and garlands of fir and lights bearing Christmas symbols, such as Rauschgoldengel (gold-foil angels). Dressed in stiff, accordion-pleated foil dresses, the angels are symbols for Nuremberg. They serve as tree top ornaments and are mounted on top of the Christmas tree in place of a star.

The opening of the market, on the Friday before the first Sunday of Advent, is a festive occasion that enjoys great popularity. At dusk the Nuremberg "Christkindl" (Christchild), a young girl, (elected every two years,) and dressed like a Rauschgoldengel, recites the "Prologue" from the balcony above the entrance to the Frauenkirche, accompanied by festive music. Choirs of children sing carols in front of the church and church bells peal. The text and the opening ceremony remain virtually unchanged.

The Christchild's Market in Nuremberg has survived until the present day mainly as a market for the sale of toys and other presents for the Christmas festival. The market stalls are decorated with branches of fir and lit by lanterns. In about one third of them food specialities of Nuremberg are offered, such as Rostbratwürste (fried sausages), Lebkuchen (spicy gingerbread), Glühwein (mulled wine) and Früchtebrot (rich fruit loaf). As it has always been, the larger part of the items sold are Christmas decorations, toys, arts and crafts articles, Christmas cribs and candles.

Shoppers make their way between the red-roofed stalls, looking, tasting, purchasing. Favorites are the Rauschgoldengel (gold-foil angels) and the famous "Zwetschgenmännle", little prune figures, made of dried fruit, crepe paper and cloth.

Visitors may pause at the nativity scene at the center of the Hauptmarkt, large wooden figurines depicting the Christmas story. Since 1948 it has become the custom, late one afternoon during advent, for schoolchildren carrying home-made lanterns, to walk from the market up the hill towards the castle in an impressive procession and then to watch the Christmas story being acted out before them. Around 150 events (trombone choirs, children's singing, distribution of Christmas presents among children etc.) take place for the duration of the market.

The market can be visited live via the Web http://www.christkindlesmarkt.de/

We recommend the video: "The Christmas Market of Nuremberg: The romantic little town made of wood and cloth" - a Merkur Film, available (in English and German) to rent or purchase from:

The German Language Video Center
7625 Pendleton Pike
Indianapolis, IN 46226-5298
317-547-1257 Fax 3175471263
http://www.germanvideo.com/

Ruth Reichmann

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