GERMAN CHRISTMAS MARKETS

During the Christmas pre-season the smell of Lebkuchen (gingerbread) and Glühwein (a spiced mulled wine) fills the downtown of many German cities. Every year, Germany's traditional markets, such as the centuries-old Christkindlesmarkt in medieval Nuremberg, draw millions of visitors, both local and foreign. They open before the first Sunday of Advent, around the time of Thanksgiving in the U.S., and usually continue until December 24th at 12 noon.

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.