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The Christmas Markets

By Josef Ruland
Information kindly provided by the Consulate General of Federal Republic of Germany, Vancouver
and the Germany Embassy, Ottawa

On the 25th of December 1772, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Christmas wrote a letter (that has since become celebrated) from his home town of Frankfurt am Main to his friend Johann Christian Kestner. "Early on Christmas Day. It is still night, dear Kestner. I rose so as to be able to write again by candlelight in the morning, which brings back pleasant memories of earlier times. I had coffee made for myself in honour of this festive day, and want to write to you until day breaks. The watchman has already played his tune from the tower. I woke up to that... As I went across the market and saw the many lights and toys, I thought of you..."

The market Goethe referred to was the Christmas or the Christ Child's market, also known in places like Stuttgart as the Christmas Fair. The most famous German Christmas market is at Nuremberg. From the beginning of Advent, booths and stalls are set up on the market-place where you can buy everything you need for Christmas: decorations for the tree and candles, crib figures and Nuremberg's celebrated gingerbread (which is mainly baked and consumed at Christmas), Christmas trees, and presents for Christmas Eve. As early as 1697 a citizen of Nuremberg wrote: "Some days before the festival when the Protestant Churches devoutly celebrate the incarnation of Christ the Lord, a market is held here that is usually called the "Child's Market" or, more fully, the "Christ Child's Market". Almost the entire market place is covered with wooden stalls... where all kinds of goods... are set out for sale". The writer adds that small children believe the Christ Child buys its wares there. That is so even today. Fathers and mothers who go with their children to this market still say: This is where the Christ Child comes.

Glühwein - The Hot Red Wine Punch

"A shot of punch helps heat up the parlour." That's why Germany's foremost poet and playwright, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once wrote to his dear friend and author of equal significance, Friedrich von Schiller. In fact, on long winter nights of the 18th- and 19th centuries, it was fashion to share a few glasses of the hot, spiced drink in the company of good friends. With the exception of wine itself, no other drink of the time has provoked as much literary and poetic praise by these author's contemporaries in Germany.

Spread from the parlour into the street, Glühwein (mulled wine) has since become a tradition ar Germany's Christmas markets - a godsend when fingers and toes start getting numb from the cold, yet you are not through all of the booths offering Christmas decorations, handmade toys and gingerbread treats. Warming the spirit, it also helps wash down roasted chestnuts and grilled sausages. And even mundane potato pancakes fresh from the griddle at Cologne's Altermarkt Christmas market, near City Hall, get a seasonal lift with the hot, sweet-and-spicy drink on the side. Christmas markets across Germany are generally open from late November to just before Chrsitmas Eve.

There are many ways to prepare hot red wine punch as there are traditions in German families. To stay close to the word's original meaning (punch - from Hindi, meaning made with five ingredients), the following is a recipe that's easy to prepare, always delicious and comforting around the hearth at home.

Ingredients per 0.7 litres of wine:

1 bottle dry red table wine
4-5 tbs. granulated sugar, or to taste
1 cinnamon stick, broken into 4-5 pieces
10-15 whole cloves, or to taste
washed rind of 1 lemon, cut in a continuous spiral strip

Heat all ingredients in heavy-bottomed pan. Simmer for approximately five minutes before serving, be careful not to let it come to a boil. Strain and pour into glasses (insert metal spoon to disperse the heat and prevent the glass from cracking). Top with freshly ground nutmeg, if you like an extra spicy whiff. Keep remaining mulled wine on hot plate, but remove lemon rind, letting it spiral from the lip down into the pot for decoration. (If left in punch, the lemon rind may turn bitter).

Non-alcoholic variation: use fresh apple cider instead of red wine.

Advent • St. Nicholas • Christmas Eve • The Christmas Tree

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