It all began with a letter from my husband’s Aunt Gerda who lives in Dortmund, Germany. Each year “Tante” Gerda describes in her Christmas card the wondrous sights of the Christmas Markets she and her family experience during the five weeks prior to Christmas. She always urged us to come and see the festivities, but I thought there was no difference in how we celebrate Christmas here in the States to what they do in Germany. Was I ever wrong!

For hundreds of years these fantastic Christmas celebrations have been going on across Germany. They were

originally called St. Nicholas markets, but later changed to the “Weihnachts Markt” or Christmas Market. The Germans brought us the Christmas tree, via Prince Albert, when he married Queen Victoria. So who should know how to celebrate Christmas the best in the entire world but the Germans? One of the largest and most famous Christmas Markets is in Nuremberg and tens of thousands of visitors descend on this city every year. Other major markets are in Berlin, Dresden, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and throughout Bavaria in southern Germany.

Tanta Gerda took us for the short 20-minute ride via their immaculate and efficient subway, called the u-bahn. It is hard to describe what I felt upon my first glimpse of the breathtaking scene in front of me as we entered the town square. I felt like a child all over again. When is the last time you remember being enthused about Christmas? As an adult, we think of the chores involved. My “inner child” surfaced as we entered the town square that first day and took in the sights that lay before us. The Christmas market sprawled from the center of the town square and wove in and out of the shopping district. Picture a huge shopping center with major department and smaller stores, cafes, restaurants, and bakeries in a cluster and outside are hundreds of “stalls”. Every merchant is in the spirit and whether it is cascading boughs of evergreen or endless rows of white lights, each seems to try to outdo the other, but in a tasteful, harmonious décor.

With over 300 vendor stalls to browse, they are a remarkable sight for both children and adults alike. The work that

goes into constructing one of these tiny houses is amazing, considering they are only there for five weeks. Made out of wood, the exterior looks as if it came from an alpine woodcutter’s village. Typical of a Bavarian mountain house, many of the stalls have a log cabin-like exterior, white lace curtains in the side windows, carved shutters and edging along the rooftops. Even snow like material adorns the roofs, if the weather does not provide some natural ambiance. The aromas that float around you are amazing! Imagine nippy December air and the gentle aroma of warm apple strudel, rich hot coca, roasted nuts, grilled bratwurst, and freshly baked pastries, cakes, and gingerbread cookies. The German’s call these delectable, spiced gingerbread cookies, lebkuchen, and they are divine! In addition, do not forget those huge, soft, warm pretzels that originated in Germany.

Every bakery has the same high quality, luscious flavor and abundant selection and tastes that are out of this world. The Germans have a custom of stopping about four o’clock for coffee and cake to take a time out to indulge in one of these delights. This is a tradition I have no problem with joining!

Another prominent tradition when visiting a Weihnachts market is to try the gluhwein (pronounced gloo-wine) they sell. It is customary to buy a gluhwein mug, which is a colorful collectible with the current year and picture of the town square printed on the front. When you buy the cup, you pay one price. Refills cost less, if you decide to keep the cup and go back for seconds and thirds. No one seems to be in a hurry at a Christmas market and the air of friendliness, relaxation and goodwill surrounds and enters your soul. Once again, you are back to the days when Christmas was fun and something to look forward to, a time when the stress of adulthood was unimaginable. I knew I had landed right in the middle of the newspaper clipping as I gazed up at the live Christmas tree in the town square. Actually, it is not one tree, but thousands of ten-foot trees built on tiers, to give the illusion of one tremendous tree. The tree is 45 meters tall, which is approximately 135 feet and has over 13,000 twinkling lights on it! Dortmund boasts this as the “largest Christmas tree in the world”. Hidden in between the various levels of the tree are platforms, where singers and musicians come out to entertain the people in the square below. The visual effect is as if the performers are living inside the tree! Here we were finally getting the chance to see what Christmas in Germany was all about. And it was feeling wonderful!

With shopping lists in hand, we started to look for presents. They had everything from toys, handmade sweaters, blankets, fine linens, craft items, ceramic and porcelain artifacts, paintings, beeswax candles, soaps, Christmas ornaments, decorations and more. Nativity scenes and figurines of the holy family play a lead role in a Christmas celebration and there are hand carved or porcelain sets of all sizes. Another popular collectible, the nutcracker, can be seen everywhere and in every design. Tiny village houses are delicately carved and realistic down to every minute detail. Ornaments might be of wood, ceramic or hand blown glass, just like my grandmother used to have on her tree. I bought some to replace some of the tired looking ornaments we had for years. Germans love fine linens and beautiful tablecloths, especially around the holidays. Dainty designs, spun in silver and gold, with red and green colors woven artistically around them. And of course, there is the famous German chocolate to discover! All the department stores have sections devoted just to chocolates. The wrapping and packaging of these tasty morsels is incomparable and works of art! Reasonably priced, we began to shop at the stalls and in the department stores until our arms could hold no more. Tomorrow was another day!

Each Christmas market has its own charm, romantic appeal and flavor and it was impossible to pick one we liked best. This was the Christmas season we would never forget. Each experience was a new pleasure all over again! It was a fantastic voyage that we knew we would be doing again in the years to come! And that was a promise.