Saturday, December 1, 2012

Weihnachtsmarkt Paderborn

The Christmas Market or "Weihnachtsmarkt" in German is one of the most famous things that come out of Germany and has since become popular in the U.S. as a nice time out in the winter time.

 According to the German Wikipedia:
"An vielen Orten wird in der Vorweihnachtszeit (Advent) ein Weihnachtsmarkt abgehalten (je nach lokaler Tradition auch Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlemarkt, Christkindlmarkt, Advent(s)markt oder Glühweinmarkt genannt)."

"Die Weihnachtsmärkte gehen zurück auf spätmittelalterliche Verkaufsmessen und - häufig eintägige - Märkte, die den Bürgern zu Beginn der kalten Jahreszeit die Möglichkeit gaben, sich mit Fleisch und winterlichem Bedarf einzudecken. Seit der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts wurden die Märkte zu einem festen Element des vorweihnachtlichen Brauchtums. Zum eigentlichen Weihnachtsfest sind die meisten Weihnachtsmärkte bereits wieder geschlossen."
Which in English roughly translates to:
"In many places in the pre-Christmas season (Advent) a Christmas market is held (depending on the local tradition there are many names for this market.)"

"The Christmas markets date back to late medieval fairs and - often one-day - markets that gave the citizens at the beginning of the cold season, the opportunity to stock up on meat and wintry demand. Since the first half of the 20th century, the markets have become an integral element. of the pre-Christmas tradition. For the 25th of December, actual Christmas, most Christmas markets are already closed. "
[here]
Last night was the opening night of the market in Paderborn as well as every city in Germany and of course, I was there. I mean, they have my favorite winter beverage available there and yes, it has alcohol in it. Glühwein according to the German Wikipedia "ist ein alkoholhaltiges Heißgetränk, das in Mitteleuropa traditionell in der Adventszeit, häufig auf Weihnachtsmärkten, getrunken wird." This roughly translates to "an alcoholic hot drink which is traditionally in Central Europe during the Advent season, often drunk at Christmas markets."


[here]
[here]
Of course, drinking and Glühwein (also known in English as Mulled Wine) is not what the whole market is about but it is the main focus of the 24 day long event. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to take photos last night due to the darkness and perhaps my own drunkenness and the friends who I was with who are from Lebanon and Iran who couldn't handle the -1 degree Celsius temperature, yeah it was only 31 degrees Fahrenheit and they kept complaining! That's summer weather!
 

But anyways, the entire city is lit up with Christmas lights and music. There are icicle like lights hanging from above in the entire city and there is a Christmas tree in front of the Rathaus in the city center, not to mention the Advent calendar in the windows of said Rathaus. It is so beautiful and I hope to take my own photos soon but until then, here's what I found in Google Images.


1 comment:

  1. Sadly, this winter is rather warm (47 °F) here in Paderborn :(

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