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On Friday before the first Advent Sunday each year, Nürnberg lights up on the world’s holiday radar.
Thousands of people crowd in the city’s main market square, the site of the annual Nürnberg Christmas Market. Shortly before 5:30 p.m., their eyes turn toward the dimmed galley of the renowned Church of Our Lady.
Suddenly, the sound of trumpets cuts through the darkness. A choir breaks into song. The galley lights up and reveals the famous Nürnberg Christmas Angel – the Christkind.
The Christkind has launched the city’s “Christkindlesmarkt” for 60 years. Its opening prologue is broadcast to countries all over the world, emphasizing Nürnberg’s status as a highlight among Germany’s many Christmas markets.
However, it is more than the Christkind that makes this market so special.
“We are striving for a traditional appearance, just like in the century-old pictures,” said Helmut Nordhardt, a spokesman for the city.
About 200 regional vendors set up a “little town from wood and cloth” that is deliberately held true to the market’s medieval roots. Plastic garlands, electronic toys and constant Christmas music are banned from the site.
“It is this old, historic picture which distinguishes our market,” he said.
The market’s location at the foot of a medieval castle, surrounded by beautiful old buildings, further adds to its appeal.
Visitors can find handmade Christmas decorations and toys, arts and crafts items, spices, bakery goods and local delicacies, sweets and spiced hot wine. Angel figures called “Rauschgoldengel” and little figurines made from dried fruit called “Zwetschgenmännler” are staples of the Nürnberg market.
The market’s earliest record stems from the year 1628. In medieval times, it supplied people with many necessities, including housewares, clothes and tools, Mr. Nordhardt said.
Having the Christmas Angel as a welcoming figure is a much younger tradition. Although the Christkind, Germany’s equivalent to Santa Claus, had been bringing presents to children on Christmas since the Protestant Reformation, the angel didn’t appear at the Nürnberg market until 1933, when the National Socialists decided to use its romantic imagery for the opening ceremony.
After World War II, the Christmas Angel became the Nürnberg market’s signature ambassador. Actresses played the angel until 1969. Since then, the Christkind is portrayed by a local girl between the ages of 16 and 19 who is elected by the city’s
residents for a two-year period.
An estimated 2.2 million people visited the Christkindlesmarkt during its four-week run last year. Opening day and the weekends are usually the busiest times, making it difficult to delve into the solemn atmosphere of the market.
Anette König, a Nürnberg local who has visited the market for more than 30 years, advises going around lunch time during the week to really enjoy everything the market has to offer. “Otherwise, you’re just being pushed through the stalls,” she said.
Her favorite part of the market is the smell of the original Nürnberg Lebkuchen and Bratwurst. Then, she said, she just likes to look at all the lights and express her admiration in traditional Nürnberg dialect: “Allmächt is des schai!”
The 2008 Nürnberg Christmas Market opens today and lasts from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Christkind prologue will be at 5:30 p.m. Regular hours for the market are from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. The Nürnberg Christmas Market ends at 2 p.m. Dec. 24.
