The practice of holding a Christmas market or Weinachstmarkt in Germany, Austria and Switzerland among other countries dates back to the Middle Ages. Markets are held in accordance with Advent traditions, namely opening on the Sunday four weeks before Christmas. These markets are traditionally held in the main plaza of the city or town and spill out into adjacent streets. The size of the market depends on the size of the town. Some of the more famous markets are held in the cities of Nuremberg, Dresden, Berlin and Munich.

Christmas markets feature regional food and beverages. Numerous temporary stalls built out of wood sell local crafts, food products such as chocolates as well as handmade ornaments. For entertainment, there are musicians, dancers and other entertainers performing, often in local traditional clothing. For children, there may be some games and carousel rides.

The most popular beverage by far is mulled wine or Glühwein. This beverage is served hot to help you warm up on cold winter nights and is made of a combination of red wine, sugar and spices. For a recipe click here. To eat, there are numerous local vendors selling sausages, sauerkraut, German pretzels and of course Lebkuchen. Lebkuchen is a German variety of gingerbread often sold in large sizes of hearts or other shapes with icing of varying colors. See the featured image for this blog.

For the last three years, a Christmas market has been held in the Queen Elizabeth Plaza near the downtown Vancouver public library. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting every year and highly recommend it. For more information on market hours and to purchase tickets visit www.vancouverchristmasmarket.com