Nearly every German town hosts a Christmas market with festive decorations, local handicrafts, sweet and spicy Christmas biscuits and warming "Gluehwein" (mulled wine). But the best ones to chose are the ones with "something special to offer", said Detlef Danitz, who has tested the Christmas spirit at markets in many German towns for the internet magazine Locality.de.
He found there are basically two types of Christmas markets. There are the traditional ones that often date back hundreds of years and have preserved their old-fashioned character, such as the famous "Christkindlesmarkt"; in Nuremberg, in the southern German state of Bavaria. Then there are the commercialised copy-cat versions with unspectacular and boring stalls.
"I enjoy Christmas markets with original ideas," said Danitz. The market in Bamberg, an attractive small city also renowned as a centre of beer brewing, offers the longest nativity scene in the world, while Bayreuth, a quiet provincial town famous for its many cultural attractions, has a live crib. Leipzig, in eastern Germany, and Forscheim, in the upper Palatinate, boast the largest advent calendars in the world. In Forscheim the Rathaus (town hall) is decorated and every day Father Christmas opens a new little door.
The two most famous Christmas markets are the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt and the Dresden Christmas market. Dresden is the oldest in Germany, boasts the highest Christmas pyramid decorations and the longest "Christstollen", a sweet yeast bread containing fruit and nuts.
It was "Christstollen", locally called "Striezel" which originally gave the Dresden Christmas market its name. In 1434, Duke Friedrich II allowed his subjects to hold a market once a week but on the day before Christmas Eve a special extra market was held to give people the chance to buy a special roast for the festival. By 1471 the Christmas market offered not only meat, but also white bread, the forbear of "Stollen". Later craftsmen also sold their wares at this Christmas market.
The Nuremberg Christlindlesmarkt is only a few year younger. "This market probably dates back to 1500," said Erika Haid, a Nuremberger who has written a book about the famous Christmas market.
"After the Reformation a custom developed of giving children gifts at Christmas. That is how the normal market traditionally held on December 21, gradually developed into a Christmas market," she explained. Confectioners, candle makers, makers of pewter and doll makers followed. Since the 18th century, stalls have also offered Christmas tree decorations and glass baubles.
Today the Christmas markets are carefully controlled by local officials. "As well as confectioners, we only allow people with traditional regional crafts to hire stalls, such as wood crafts from the nearby Erz Mountains, or earthenware from the neighbouring Lausitz region," said Ardt Becker of the market authority in Dresden. Glass blowers from Thuringia are also welcome. They like to stick to the old traditional style, he said. Computer games and roller coasters would not fit the picture.
Yet not everyone with wares deemed suitable, gets a stall. "The number of applicants for stalls outstrips the capacity of the market place every year," said Becker. Only 230 of the 400 applicants are allocated a stall. Candidates must present a concept for their stall and explain what its special attraction will be, which is evaluated by a commission.
Nuremberg stallholders undergo similar scrutiny. All the stalls here must look the same to maintain the market's cohesion. Monitors make visits in the last weeks before the market opens to ensure the high standards are being maintained. The best stall wins a prize. Erika Haid tried long and hard to be allocated a stall. It took her 12 years before she was able to offer her handmade miniature market stands for sale.
However, the majority of stalls go to professional traders who travel to different markets in Germany throughout the year. Many local Nuremberg businesses also open a second branch for the Christmas period. "A stand on the Christkindlesmarkt is good business," said Erika Haid. "But you cannot earn a year's salary in just four weeks, as many people believe."
A listing of a wide range of German Christmas markets is available at the German-language wesbite www. locality.de.
(dpa)
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