Nov 20

Nov 20 Christmas in Germany: Nürnberg Christkindlesmarkt

If Dresden is considered the oldest Christmas market in Germany and maybe even the world, the Nürnberg Christkindlesmarkt might be the most famous. It also goes back a long way - the oldest references point back to the middle of the 16th century, and its oldest written account is from 1628.

The reason for this popularity is probably its strict rules when it comes to preserving traditional practices. For no Christmas is above the Germans' love for regulations. And severe as that might sound, it's actually a good thing, because you will not see plastic and cheap gaudy trinkets in this market, no fake fir tree garlands, no Christmas music blasting from every wooden hut, you will eat with real metal cutlery and drink from real ceramic mugs, which you will return after use (yay for Pfand). Feel free to buy one, every year there’s a different design, collectors rejoice.

Tradition is kept in all food and drink aspects, too: gingerbread is the original Nürnberger Lebkuchen (or the exquisite Elisenlebkuchen, the flourless version, 45% nuts), mulled wine may be labeled Nürnberger Glühwein only if it is made from a local wine, and the tiny Nürnberger sausages (usually sold in threes, stuffed in a bun, called Drei im Weggla) have been regulated regarding length, weight and meat proportion for centuries. Nothing is beyond thorough quality control.

Also, the stalls are made from wooden frames and covered with red and white striped cloth, which gave the market the surname "the little town of wood and cloth" (Städtlein aus Holz und Tuch, as referred to in the market opening speech). Organic might be a recent moniker, but that's what you get all the time in the Nürnberg market: wood, metal and glass are the main materials of the ornaments, which also helps this feeling of natural traditional 'Christmas values'.

*Christmas pyramids, a classical ornament from Erzgebirge mountains*

*No German Christmas market is complete without a wide assortment of Nutcrackers*

The also classical Moravian stars (Herrnhuter Sterne)

Hold on, we're not done with traditional Christmas values that are set in stone. In Nürnberg there is no Santa.

Lift your jaw off the floor and breathe in a bag. Of course there are gifts, it's just the Christkind bringing them. Just like in many other countries, an angel (symbolizing or replacing Baby Jesus) brings gifts to children, a tradition coming from Martin Luther, who, in an attempt to distance himself from Catholic customs, took the gifts from good ol' Saint Nick and moved them forward from the beginning of December to Christmas time, to draw more attention to, well, Christ.

So in Nürnberg the Christkindlesmarkt is being opened every year by a real Christkind angel. First embodied by actresses, now by local girls elected every two years, the curly golden angel recites the same prologue since 1948 and wears the same golden outfit. Watch here a recent recording from the opening speech, delivered from the balcony of the Frauenkirche.

And this is not even the whole thing. If you’d rather have a more glittery chitty chitty bang bang fair, there’s a Children’s Christmas Market nearby, with a classic steam carousel and a choo-choo train and a Ferris wheel and more activities for kids.

Also, there’s the lovely and bountiful international christmas market, for Nürnberg’s twin cities, der Markt der Partnerstädte, where you will find goodies (mostly to eat or drink, but also various crafts) from Glasgow, Cordoba, Krakow, Nice, Brasov, and even from the US, China, Sri Lanka or Israel.