A study in Christmas Markets: Background and Brugge

There are several reasons we wanted to be back in Europe before Christmas – the opportunity to spend Christmas with my brother and his family in Germany, experiencing a different culture/country celebrate Christ’s birth, etc – but I am ashamed to admit that the #1 reason was that I really, REALLY wanted to go to Christmas markets. As the name would suggest, they only happen around Christmas, and although they start in late November, they often end several days before Christmas. When I studied abroad in college, I had come over literally days after Christmas and came to realize then that I had missed something good. My brother had taken me to the remains of a Christmas market (we figure they had food left over and were happy to sell it to us) and I then experienced the rapture of gluehwein, which is mulled/spiced red wine, in the special sized and marked cup (generally telling the year and name of the market). I was hooked. Ever since then, I have desired to spend Christmas in Europe, mostly to experience the markets, without really thinking it would ever happen. When D’s work opportunity here cracked the door to the possibility, we ran through it. D is a gracious and loving husband to indulge me in returning before Christmas, he was up for the adventure.

A “Christmas market” is an open air/street market held during advent, mainly the four weeks preceding Christmas Day. These markets originated in Germany and Austria and are known by the names of Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) and Christkindlmarkt (Christ Child’s market). They date back to the Middle Ages in the German speaking sections of Europe. No one city has claim to being the first, but there are several that have documented markets ranging back to the late 1300’s and early 1400’s. Christmas markets have been a German tradition since at least the mid 1500s. Seasonal markets were held in Germany year around. Christmas markets were an especially anticipated event, as they brought light and laughter to a cold, dark season.


Each town’s market would have been unique. Local tradesmen would have sold their wares at the market, giving each market an individual flavor. Food and beverages served would have been produced in the region, making each town's offerings a little different. Tradesmen would have lined the streets with handmade wares, displaying distinctive regional characteristics. This is why different markets visited today will have different wares and qualities. The different names are from different traditions adopted in the north and south of Germany. Christkindlmarkt’s are a southern tradition where the Christkindl delivers presents to children on Christmas. Christkindl is a romantic, fairy like being, dressed in white and gold, with golden hair topped by a golden crown. Christkindl is the German equivalent of Santa Claus. (Not sure, really, how the Christ child became a fairly like figure…must be something like the game of Telephone over the centuries…)


Like other aspects of Christmas, unfortunately, Christmas markets have become commercial products and there is a trend of mass produced items for sale and non-traditional foods provided. I saw this less in Germany than in adopters of the Christmas market tradition. Nonetheless, I was determined to enjoy my market season, warts and all.


Brugge was the first city that we visited upon our return back to Belgium. Brugge is a perennial favorite of ours and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see it dressed up for Christmas. The decorations were lovely and I always enjoy the opportunity to get a hot cup of gluehwein to warm me up from the inside out. But, it wasn’t what I had hoped. It was fairly small, cramped into the grand-place, and the wares were mostly mass produced and lacking in quality or uniqueness. We were glad that some of them were of a winter variety (we were with friends that had not brought a winter hat, and it was -5 degrees Celsius, so purchasing one was on the top of the agenda) but it felt like a Sunday market (prepared food, veggies, household goods for sale on a weekly basis on the day that all the stores are closed – Sunday) just dressed up for Christmas. A fun trip, but not the start I had hoped for on my Christmas market extravaganza tour. So, since one of our travel companions to Brugge was the master-mind of travel and food, I asked him where we should go next. Taking into consideration our limited time (one weekend before our trip to Frankfurt, Germany for visiting family and celebrating Christmas), he recommended Cologne, Germany, a short car ride away but with multiple markets to choose from and a good tradition to fall back on. Cologne was next.