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German Christmas markets in Texas
An awesome tradition brought over by the “inventors of Christmas”
A German friend of mine claims that the Germans invented Christmas. It’s hard to argue with him, at least when it comes to beloved Christmas traditions like the Christmas tree, mulled wine, Advent calendars and mistletoe. Germany also has another wonderful tradition — the Christmas market. These are found everywhere during the four weeks of Advent.
They started off first as simply “December markets” which were widespread through the German-speaking parts of Europe in the Late Middle Ages. Records exist of these in Vienna in 1298 and Munich in 1310, but the first Christkindlmarkt, or Christ child market, was held in Dresden in 1434.
These Christmas markets usher in the Advent season. They are traditionally held in a central town square. On opening night, often a young local child plays the part of the boy Jesus or, if it’s a girl, an angel, and onlookers welcome the young Christkind before partaking of all the goodness the markets have to offer. This includes food, drink and seasonal items such as Christmas ornaments sold from open-air stalls, as well as traditional music and dancing.
Last year I went to my very first German Christmas market, right here in Texas. There is a large group of Texans with…
