This time of year with the holiday season and the advent of Christmas, there are festivals, celebrations and Christmas markets abound. The markets bring together merchants that sell all types of handmade gifts food and drink. The market places are festively decorated with lights and adornments creating a winter wonderland. There are hundreds of Christmas markets around the world and Germany has probably cornered THE market. As Germany is the birth place of Old St. Nick the major cities come to life with tradition. From Bavaria to Nuremberg and everywhere in Germany the towns and villages come to life with holiday spirit. Dishes like Schnitzel, bratwurst, gingerbread, mulled wine, and apple strudel are wafting in the air as you walk down the aisles of everything Christmas.
There is music, singing and dancing as well and of course a visit from Father Christmas.
Other countries in Europe also celebrate grandly, the Christmas Market of Paris lines the Champs Elysees with hundreds of Christmassy chalets each selling its own unique products from regions around France. Starting with arts and crafts to champagne, truffles, meats and cheeses you can find everything for your Christmas celebration there.
Europe isn’t the only place with Christmas markets, you can find a wide array of them throughout the USA, Beaux sejours had the opportunity to visit a very popular Christmas market in Tomball Texas, it is the number 2 market in the states. Here we experienced first hand the festivities of a traditional German festival.
Starting with the food merchants who traveled from all over to be a part of this happy event. Everything from jagerschnitzel and bratwurst, potato pancakes and apple strudel all to delight the most discerning palate. They had plenty of activities for the whole family and handmade crafts everywhere. The day would not be complete without the authentic German bands and rollicking lyrics! So if you really want to get your Christmas on this is a fabulous place to start. There are websites dedicated to Christmas markets alone. www.christmasmarkets.com is just one of many.
