The Christmas Markets: Kitsch or Community?

The Christmas markets of Germany and Austria are legendary. They land on many people's bucket lists, and drive tourism in the challenging winter months. These markets -- called Christkindlmarkt (Christ Child Market) or Adventmarkt -- feature handmade gifts and baubles, ornaments and decorations, essential oils and soaps, preserved foods and cookies, and food stalls. The food and beverage stalls have an eye to keeping shoppers warm -- mulled wine (called Gluwein), hot fruity punches ("punsch") filled with real fruit and optional alcohol, roasted potatoes, roasted chestnuts, waffles and more.  Depending on the market, there might also be open fires for guests to warm them themselves.

Is this just another tourist trap and venue for over-consumption, or is it something more?  In our tiny town of St.. Gilgen (pop. 3,000), it is a beacon of light in the cold winter. Our market opened on Friday, November 24, and will be open Thursday through Sunday until New Year's Eve.  It took volunteers and town employees two weeks to get the booths and decorations set up. As the days got colder and darker, we had something to look forward to. "Did you see the huts at the town square? They must be getting ready for the Adventmarkt." Then came the colorful signs for each hut -- angels (one is riding a horse; one is sharing hot drinks with a frog in an Amadeus wig), stars, trees, couples in dirndls and lederhosen -- all depicting heavenly and earthly scenes in contract to the drab skies above. Next came the trees and the "adventkerzen" -- electric candles in all sizes. The candles peek out from windows around town, adorn the light posts, and there are giant candles (12 feet tall) at our waterfront and St. Wolfgang's, beckoning visitors to our ports.

When it finally opened, there was such a bustle of activity in our sleepy village. The booths are run by the same people each weekend, so we are getting to know some of the non-school locals.  We have tasted all of the foods and found our favorites. Punsch varieties include roasted apple cider (with matchstick apples), mandarin-ginger (with mandarin orange slices), elderflower, and cranberry. Which one shall I have today? One booth features ooey-gooey raclette cheese with toppings of onions, bacon and more. Spiralkartoffel are thinly slices spiral potato chips. They are sold in two sizes -- "viel" (a lot) and "viel mehr" (a lot more). Of course there are sausages, sauerkraut, crepes, and a special Austrian dessert called "Kaisersmarr'n". This last one is basically thick strips of pancake topped with warm fruit preserves and powdered sugar. And don't forget "schaumbecher" (cream cup). This is an icecream cone filled with whipped cream, then dipped in chocolate. Need more chocolate? Feel like some fruit to offset the heavy food? Head over to the booth that serves chocolate-dipped fruit. They've got you covered.

Back the original question -- hopeless tourist kitsch? Maybe in the big cities, where the markets are also competing with cathedrals, museums, and landmarks. But in our little village, it is like sunshine on a snowy day. Everyone ends up at the market. If I'm walking around when school is getting out, I will inevitably run into my kids (Mason will have a viel mehr serving of potatoes), as well as all of their friends. Head out on Saturday night, and you can barely make it to the punsch stand for running into friends at every turn.

I was at the bank last week, and my banker was extolling the wonders of the market. He told me that our villages have only been putting on the Adventmarkt for 10 years. (The three main towns on Lake Wolfgang -- St. Wolfgang, St. Gilgen, and Strobl -- jointly promote their markets.) He said that before the markets, the winters were very long and dreary. The towns were dead quiet. Now we have something to look forward to, and we know that we can head into town, and find friends.

For my dear readers from Santa Barbara, I can compare our market to Nite Moves, the weekly 5K run at the beach every Wednesday in the summer. If you show up at Nite Moves, you're bound to find someone you know. You don't need to coordinate, plan, text; you just show up. If you can't make it, you haven't let anyone down.  That's how our market is. It draws people on their own schedules and on their own terms. It builds community. We will miss it when the new year starts, but by then we'll have plenty of snow for snowboarding!