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Experience Holiday magic at German-style Christmas markets

By
Real Estate Agent with Thompson Company, REALTORS® 240.593.2860 MD594797

German Christmas Markets go wayyy back to the Middle Ages, and were started to provide an opportunity for people to stock up on items to make it through the winter months. 

Nowadays, the markets are set up during Advent to bring together family and friends, to provide a festive venue where regional (preferred) vendors can offer their handmade goods for sale, to entice people to shop small and local, to spread Holiday cheer and to experience the magic of the season.

Christmas markets today come in different sizes, and can be found all over the world. Although many have been infused with local flair, there are a few authentically German "ingredients" that make them so popular, and magical. Among the must-haves are:

*wooden huts, festively decorated, for local vendors to sell their unique, hand-crafted goods

*seasonal fare, such as roasted nuts, gingerbread cookies, and most importantly, spiced mulled wine 

*a Christmas tree, wooden Christmas pyramid and/or nativity scenes

Ideally, while you are gathered around a table next to a Glühwein hut with your dear ones, enjoying another cup of mulled wine, Christmas music plays in the background, the temperature dips just below the freezing point, and the snow starts to fall. You know the kind, the perfect-snowflake-producing kind. 

If the above whet your appetite for a visit (and some mulled wine), you can find a comprehensive list of German-style Christmas Markets throughout the US at germanyinusa.com

Locally, there's a quaint one at Baltimore's Inner Harbor, and the Downtown Holiday Market in Washington DC. Due to local laws, no spiked mulled wine is available at the latter, unfortunately. 

German Christmas Markets in Maryland

*Just in case you are wondering, that is me in the black & white picture. I grew up in Germany and can speak with authority on this subject (which is making me quite a bit homesick). I have fond memories of annual visits to the Christmas markets, and it is still one of my favorite ways to get into the Holiday groove, to experience the magic and share it with my children, and to gather with family and friends. Happy Holidays!  

Posted by

Andrea Bedard
Thompson Co., REALTORS®

Silver Spring, Maryland
andreabedard.com

Fluent in Real Estate and German.
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Comments (9)

Barbara Todaro
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Happily Retired - Franklin, MA
Previously Affiliated with The Todaro Team

Good morning, Andrea Bedard isn't that nice that you can continue to experience what you did as a young child.... very special.

Dec 10, 2019 04:37 AM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hello Andrea - while this time of year may naturally make you a bit homesick, your experience of German-style holiday magic provides a level of authencity that obviously enhances the season foryou and others.  Enjoy!

Dec 10, 2019 04:55 AM
Andrea Bedard
Thompson Company, REALTORS® 240.593.2860 - Silver Spring, MD
Fluent in Real Estate & German, M.A. ABR ASP CIPS

I love it Barbara Todaro, especially being able to share this yearly experience and its magic with my children. They know all the German flavors (but the mulled wine of course).

Michael Jacobs, the sights, the sounds, the smells, the flavors..  it all brings back so many wonderful memories. We'll get to make news ones very soon when we visit one of the oldest German Christmas Markets!

Dec 10, 2019 05:54 AM
Brian England
Ambrose Realty Management LLC - Gilbert, AZ
MBA, GRI, REALTOR® Real Estate in East Valley AZ

That sounds like a wonderful place to visit for Christmas cheer!  When I was a kid my school would host a Christmas Idea House every year, it was a wonderful thing.

Dec 10, 2019 06:27 AM
Michele Cadogan 917-861-9166
Fillmore Real Estate 2990 Av U, Bklyn , NY 11229 - Brooklyn, NY
Licensed Real Estate Associate Broker -

My sister was station in Germany  and  would visit the holiday markets for  their unique crafts, ,sweets and music.  Btw Over this past weekend PBS european travel host Rick Steve presented a segment regarding the Christmas Markets of Europe.

Dec 10, 2019 04:24 PM
Grant Schneider
Performance Development Strategies - Armonk, NY
Your Coach Helping You Create Successful Outcomes

Good morning Andrea Bedard - I love the German Christmas Markets.  It is hard to find them in New York.

Dec 12, 2019 03:20 AM
Andrea Bedard
Thompson Company, REALTORS® 240.593.2860 - Silver Spring, MD
Fluent in Real Estate & German, M.A. ABR ASP CIPS

It is Brian England! There is something magical about the traditional Christmas markets, perhaps it's "only" because of all the special memories I associate with it.. but my children do agree!  

Dec 12, 2019 07:35 AM
Andrea Bedard
Thompson Company, REALTORS® 240.593.2860 - Silver Spring, MD
Fluent in Real Estate & German, M.A. ABR ASP CIPS

I hope she tasted the mulled wine, too, Michele Cadogan-Cell 917-861-9166 :) It warms you right up, especially on a cold winter eve. Many of the markets take great care in only allowing local vendors and/or hand-crafted items ... I love that! 

Too bad I didn't know about the PBS special.. I would have enjoyed watching it, for sure. 

Dec 12, 2019 07:37 AM
Andrea Bedard
Thompson Company, REALTORS® 240.593.2860 - Silver Spring, MD
Fluent in Real Estate & German, M.A. ABR ASP CIPS

I have friends in upstate NY and researched where the closest German-style Christmas market is for them... while there are 2 set up in NYC, it's not convenient, plus they prefer not to have to venture to the city. 

The Christkindl market in Mifflingburg, PA appears to be the closest one. It may just be worth a trip Grant Schneider

Dec 12, 2019 07:42 AM