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allontario.ca Vol.4 December 2015
in Black Creek Pioneer Village
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VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS IN BLACK CREEK PIONEER VILLAGE “LESSONS FROM THE PAST” by C. Perdomo GET INTO THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT NEW ROAD SAFETY RULES THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS IN BAVARIA
in Black Creek Pioneer Village
Black Creek Pioneer Village is a Toronto heritage museum, which takes history out of the books and brings it to life. It depicts life as it was in rural Upper Canada before 1867. The pioneer village consists of over 40 genuine homes, workshops and community and farm buildings, many of which are among the oldest and historically significant in the GTA. Most of them were relocated to the Village from their original sites in southern Ontario. Houses have been carefully restored and fully furnished to recapture their original ambiance. Historic interpreters and craftsmen dressed in period costume demonstrate how villagers lived, worked and played. The tranquil setting, rural landscapes, heritage gardens and period farm animal breeds make Black Creek the unique place where history comes alive. It was opened in 1960 and is operated by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.
Stong Homestead
One night, after watching one of my favourite Christmas movies, “A Christmas Carol” based on the novel by Charles Dickens, I incredibly wanted to plunge into the long-gone, so fabulous, atmosphere. When there was no electricity and auto, antibiotics and pesticides, Internet and digital technologies… Next day I went to Black Creek Pioneer Village. Luckily, I didn’t need the magic machine that could transfer me back in time; I simply took a TTC bus that brought me to the Steeles and Jane intersection in Toronto.
Black Creek Pioneer Village is an authentically re-created 1860′s Ontario country village; the place where life goes on the way it was over 150 years ago. Here, in 1816, Daniel and Elizabeth Stong, a young married couple, cleared the land and build their first home – a small 3-room log house with a large stone fireplace and a smoke house. Since then, those two structures have been sitting on their original locations for 200 years. They are the oldest buildings in the Village and the 11th and 12th of the oldest surviving structures in Metro Toronto Area. Daniel Stong constructed them with his own hands and I really appreciated his building skills. A smoke house, piggery and a large grain barn were added over the years. When you look at all these buildings you cannot help feeling great respect to the man, to his vision and confidence in the future. Pigs were important livestock that were easy to raise and provided meat that was stored well salted or smoked. Meat was butchered and after soaking in brine for 6-8 weeks, pork was hung on hooks in the smoke of a slow burning fire of wood or corn cobs burning in a huge iron kettle. I imagine myself living the simple life of the early pioneers, having their joys and hardships, and working hard for survival … As the family became more prosperous they were able to build the Second House in 1832, which is a fine two-story home with its brick fireplace, bake oven, clapboard siding and plenty of space for their six sons, two daughters and the occasional visitor or hired hand. Stong’s grown daughters slept on the second floor and the only way out of the house was through a squeaky stairs to their parent’s bedroom, so no one could escape unnoticed. Fiancés for the girls were chosen by their father who never asked the girls’ opinions. It was not because he didn’t love them; it was just the normal way of arranging their marriages. … Today smoke still curls from the Stong’s home chimney and when you open the door you are welcome with freshly baked bread.
Burwick House (c.1844) Burwick House is an extremely fine example of rural Georgian architecture with an imposing facade. The building was constructed with mortise and tendon framing covered with clapboard, the interiors were finished with lath and plaster. The House gives us a glimpse of the life of a country gentleman. The father would have been a lawyer, for instance, or a successful merchant. He might be in his forties and had a wife perhaps ten years younger. They would have three or four children and would likely have a few more but not all would survive. The family had their own substantial stable and coach shed with a regular wagon and visiting carriage. A home like this would have a live-in servant, perhaps a 19 year-old girl recently emigrated from Ireland with her parents.
Doctor's House (c.1830)
Black Creek Pioneer Village has everything that was essential for the rural life in mid 19th century: a water-powered grist mill, general store, blacksmith's shop, cider mill, harness shop and saddler, post office, fire house, boot and shoe shop, tinsmith shop, carriage works, hotel, church, printing office, town hall, schoolhouse, Masonic Lodge, and a cemetery. Here, they bake bread, publish a newspaper, grow vegetables, raise animals, produce yard goods, coverlets and colourful rag rugs, make cider, brooms and toys.
The village doctor lived a little bit more modest than a gentleman, but still had a comfortable home. The veranda of Doctor’s elegant house is a welcome entrance to the timber frame home with wood sheathing and stucco finish. The house was originally a farm house designed to accommodate two generations of the family at once. With two front doors, completely separate upstairs and doors to close off each wing, two families could live separately in the same home. This design made the house ideal for the village doctor. With one section of the house used as living quarters, the other section served as the doctor's office and waiting room. The large medical herb garden surrounding the house enabled the doctor to produce remedies to supplement his commercial medicines. A doctor would travel many miles out into the country to help people who were too sick to come into the village. A village was blessed if the doctor lived in it. It brought a sense of security and permanence to a small community like Black Creek. But when you see the tools that the doctor would have used to treat various ailments, you decide which was worse, the disease or the cure.
Christmas Dinner Preparing food for the Christmas season took months in making. It began in harvest time when the best root vegetables were set aside. By late October the housewife would already be busy making cakes, puddings, and crocks of minced meat for her pies and tarts. A plum pudding was a must for Christmas celebrations and many households had their own recipe for it. Essentially the recipe brought together different kinds of dry fruit, eggs and suet, and what traditionally were expensive or luxurious ingredients, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger that are so important in developing its distinctive rich aroma. The mixture had to be moistened with brandy, whiskey or rum. The pudding was aged for months; the high alcohol content of the pudding prevented it from spoiling during this time. Despite the name "plum pudding," the pudding contains no actual plums due to the pre-Victorian use of the word "plums" as a term for raisins. Christmas baking began in the weeks leading up to the great feast. A fowl from the barnyard would be chosen, perhaps a goose, duck, chicken or turkey, and stuffing was prepared from stale bread, onions, and herbs from the housewife’s garden. When the family and friends sat down to their Christmas feast, the menu would include bread, butter, cakes, boiled fowl, pork, mashed potatoes, cream and sugar, cheese, stewed red currant, a pork pie, a mince pie, as well as home-cured ham, applesauce made from their own orchard, and plum pudding that had been liberally doused with brandy and set afire.
Christmas Fun Parlour games were popular entertainment for young and old: Blind Man’s Bluff, Hide the Slipper, Snapdragon, Twenty Questions and card games, such as whist and euchre. Horse-drawn wagon rides, walking together, carolling, story-telling, and indoor dancing gave people a lot of joy.
Christmas Gifts It took months to prepare gifts for family members for Christmas day. Hand-made and home-made pin holders, taper boxes, tea cozies, pen wipers, blotting books, cigar cases, pin cushions, dolls, and wooden toys such as spinning tops, the climbing bear and wooden Jacob's ladders were popular presents. Children usually received only one gift and they treasured that gift.
Christmas Decorations Doors and doorways, windows and mantels, pictures and mirrors were decorated with evergreens with red ribbons, paper chains, berries, and paper roses. Parishioners filled the Church with garlands and storekeepers used boughs and wreaths to bring a seasonal feeling to their premises – and hopefully entice buyers to make Christmas purchases!
Christmas celebrations were family traditions, rather than religious ones. Many of the seasonal customs we have today were beginning to take shape, such as Christmas trees, Santa Claus, gift giving, Christmas dinner, and even Christmas cards. People went to church, enjoyed walks together, had joyful horse and wagon rides, played parlour games, and ate a lot of food. It was also a time for weddings with many couples saying “I do” on Christmas day. Like many new immigrants, the villagers probably compromised somewhat on their Christmas traditions that they had back home. In Canada, especially in rural areas, keeping those customs was not always possible if the traditional ingredients could not be obtained. So pioneers did what creative people have always done throughout history. They improvised - with food and with Christmas decorations, using what was readily available. Black Creek Pioneer Village is great at any time of year, but it is at its best in December when the buildings are beautifully decorated for Christmas. Green-and-red wreaths, kissing bows and Christmas trees… At this magical time of the year, the historic Village lit by the soft glow of lanterns, lamps, candles and roaring fires. Having spent four hours in Black Creek, I got into the holiday spirit by stepping back in time; enjoyed the sights, smells and sounds of a Victorian Christmas; took a million pictures and forgot all my problems. Leaving the Village, I was carrying in my heart a warm feeling of peace and expectation of a miracle. I’ve always had these sentimental feelings associated with the season. In our age of smartphones and gift cards, this comes a lot closer to the way many people would like to enjoy the holiday. In this extraordinary time of winter holidays, may something magical happen to you, like in a fairy tale. By Natalie Peters References: • www.blackcreek.ca • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Creek_Pioneer_Village • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_buildings_and_structures_in
By Carlos Perdomo
The brightest light on a little Christmas tree
In the middle of September, after the last fight between my father and my mother, I knew that we were heading for a sad end of the year. Despite the constant efforts of my mom to keep the marriage going, Patricia and I were sure that it was a sacrifice without any potential reward. Often, people live together for some time and then after going their separate ways; I strongly believe that most of the time it is much better for everyone involved, compared to a relationship without any fundamentals. It should be stopped at the first signs of misunderstanding and lack of communication. The most common problem is, as I learned throughout my family ups and downs, there is always one of the couple who believes that somehow everything can be fixed creating with that wishful thinking a mirage of the possibility of starting anew. For what I have seen and experienced, I am still waiting for the first successful attempt from a couple to, with a blink of an eye, go back to the basics and forget about the succession of mistakes made along the journey. Just a few years prior, none of my parents were even thinking about separate, much less, getting divorced. But different ideas developed, new laws were enacted, and because of these changes I was part of a break up experience. I did not understand why my father just left without any concerns about the three of us. He was a well-off individual, and it could have been so easy for him to grant a decent monthly alimony to my mom to cover our necessities. His excuse was very simple: my mother was a cheater; therefore he was not sure if we really were his children. “I won’t support any one who does not carry my blood,” he often stated. My mother was a good teacher (a profession she gave up to marry him), and a responsible woman. When Peter left, I constantly saw her in state of despair and desolation. Obviously, all the bills were behind, and the bank was ready to repossess the property. All of this was happening in December, the month of love and closeness between families, a period of time in which most kids wait anxiously for Christmas day. Our situation got to the point in which we were not sure, if for the next day, we would have any food on our table. The mere idea to ask for help was rather improbable. My mother’s motto, “Whatever you get in life, you have to work for it. Never accept anything for free or anything handed to you out of pity,” was in full force.
On top of everything the festivities were at its best. As a child I enjoyed every second of them. I loved the protocol: the wishing, the expectations, and most of all, the sound of the clock’s chime at noon, “authorizing” us to open the presents. In 1986, my sister and I did not have any hope of a merry Christmas. At school, my teacher very often emphasized to think and not to forget about the needy, or the less privileged. Because, knocking on wood, as she normally did when touching a delicate and negative subject, “life is not a straight line and maybe any one of us could at any time be facing that tribulation.” I completely agreed that it was relevant to talk about this kind of difficulty, without knowing that I was going to be part of this group. II The morning of the 25th, I awoke about nine o’clock. I decided to turn on the television and watch the holiday’s international celebrations. Glued to the screen, captivated deeply by the fireworks display, the astonishing decorations of the trees, and the songs of praise performed in a joyous manner, I did not pay too much attention to the small tree sitting – almost unnoticed – in the right corner of the room. After a while, I became aware of the isolated twinkling light at the top of the pine which created a surrealistic impression in the narrow space. I also began to notice that in the middle, at the bottom of the tree, a small golden box with a red heart-shaped bow was waiting to be opened. Evidently, I did not dare to take action. Instead, I ran to awaken my sister. “What are you doing?” “Get up! You have to see it.” “See what?” “Vamoose!”
LESSONS from THE PAST “You are a terrible pain!” With not much enthusiasm, she started getting ready, and in between, gave me the speech of her life. As we were leaving the room, I automatically held her hand, a gesture of protection learned in my early years from my mom. After I told her about the box she was as curious as me, then, the big question arose – should we open it without asking for permission first? “Go and tell mom.” “No way, you do it.” “Or…” “Better not. She is not feeling well and has a terrible headache.” “You’re right. Better not to bother her. I still think it’s not right to proceed.” “We have to decide what to do.” “True.” Following a two-minute deliberation, the novelty stronger than our reluctance, we headed to the living room already feeling that the box was somehow special. I lifted the extra light carton from the floor. The papiermâché, glittering scarlet in front of our eyes, a prelude to revealing a little secret from my mother. “Open it,” urged my sister. “Okay, okay. Wait a second.” I removed the lid, and I have to confess, my initial disappointment. Inside the box there was just a small piece of paper with my mother’s handwriting. Patricia, a classic female, told me that she wanted to know the content of the short note immediately. Obliged, I read it aloud. “This small package contains a magnificent present for the three of us.” We looked at each other in astonishment; inside, there was nothing else but a note that we could not understand. “I don’t get it.” “Me neither.” “What now?” “Mom?” “We have no other option.”
Timely, my mother was entering the room. She examined us for a brief moment, came closer and told us to kneel in front of the tiny tree. She spoke softly: “I know you are wondering about the message; I want to explain my words to you.” Taking the box, she put her right hand inside and asked us to do the same. Next, she told as to put our hands in her palm and not to move. “You are going to feel warmth, not only from our hands, but also because of our emotional response of love and tenderness toward each other. Close your eyes. Imagine three hearts beating rhythmically in this miniscule area. Feel our wholeness covering this small space. Are you aware of the sensation?” “Yes mom,” we barely answered as we were about to cry “That is our love today and forever. The most fantastic present we can ever share” We remained, embracing each other, until there were no more tears to shed.
Ontario 511 Traveller Information Services
Ontario 511 is an Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) telephone service that provides the public with voice-activated, handsfree information on provincial highways. The Traveller Information Services provides road information for provincial highways in Ontario by telephone at 5-1-1 or online with accessible information on the MTO Ontario 511 website www.ontario.ca/511 At present, the Ontario 511 site is not mobile friendly. Check online before setting out on a trip, to see the latest: • Road Closures & Restrictions: incidents and closures, today’s roadwork, planned roadwork • Traffic & Road Information: construction, traffic flow (GTA), high occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV) • Road Conditions: description of road conditions and visibility • Traffic Cameras & Carpool Lots • Other Traveller Information: service centres, ferry services, provincial parks, travel information centres
How to access Ontario 511 The Ontario 511 telephone service is available throughout Ontario and is free. Just dial 511. Call to check the roads before setting out on a trip. If calling 511 while driving, observe Ontario’s ban on cell phone use while driving. Pull over safely to the road shoulder before calling or use hands-free, Bluetooth technology. If you travelling in another province or state If you wish to call Ontario 511 toll free while driving in another province or state, dial 1-866-929-4257 FREE The information provided and updated as it becomes available. Although every effort is done to ensure that the information is as current and accurate as possible, errors do occasionally occur. Therefore, MTO cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided. Ontario 511 road information can assist provincial road travellers with planning travel routes, avoiding congestion due to poor weather conditions, construction or road closures, and receiving critical information when emergencies or events arise. http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/trip/
Got a Traffic Ticket ? Carlos Perdomo Licensed Paralegal
416-671-7670 cpsolutions60@gmail.com www.paralegaltoronto.ca
Get into
the holiday spirit! Grab a cup of coffee and prepare to get into the holiday spirit by travelling from your very own room. Maybe you can come with a good idea for your winter holiday vacations with your family or your special someone. Anyway, with this article you’ll enjoy the magic of the Holiday Season all around the world …
VIRTUALLY Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland
Photo credit: www.visitrovaniemi.fi
Spending winter holidays in “Europe’s Christmas capital” in Lapland with Santa Claus sounds appealing. Also, this is an exceptionally good time to see the aurora borealis: the liquid-green Northern Lights illuminate the nighttime sky. Rovaniemi is considered the official home town of Santa Claus, and is home to the Santa Claus Village at the foot of the Arctic Circle, where Santa Claus' Main Post Office is located. Santa Claus peers out from every corner shop and window.
During dark times the village has nicely lit ice sculptures. The wilderness is an actual winter wonderland: traverse the frosty landscape via a reindeer-pulled sled, or go cross-country skiing. Each year thousands of visitors from all over the world come to the Santa Claus Village. It’s the place where a fantasy come true for kids and adults alike that refuse to grow up, Father Christmas’s hometown is a must for anyone that still believes in the magic of Christmas.
Photo credit: Ville de Québec
Quebec City, Canada
Spend an unforgettable holiday in an exceptional natural environment. While staying at this internationally renowned ski resort, discover breathtaking panoramas and magnificent sceneries of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. Courchevel is the most chic alpine resort in France featuring 11 luxury five stars hotels, 6 restaurants awarded with the Michelin star, jet-set and royal clientele, luxury boutiques, exceptional SPAs in the heart of the 3 Valleys, the world's largest ski domain, with about 600km of trails and slopes and 198 lifts. However, the resort offers accommodation, which is the most wideranging in the whole of the Alps.
Courchevel, French Alps
400-year-old magnificent walled city with Europeanlike atmosphere, Quebec is a perfect place to enjoy all of the Christmas pleasures: lit-up cobblestone streets, 16th- and 17th-century stone houses, fantastic decorations, good cheer, great food, and lots of snow. If you’re looking for jaw-dropping scenery and the highest vertical drop of 770m in Eastern Canada, then Le Massif de Charlevoix is your dream winter destination, which is only 75km from Québec City. It is one of the few ski areas, which is accessible from both the base and summit.
Colmar, France
Neighbouring Germany and Switzerland, this medieval city is stunningly beautiful and well preserved. All of Colmar's attractions are concentrated in its old town. You can get around on foot with no difficulty. Spend a day strolling along its streets and many-many fantastically colourful shops. Although Colmar was French for most of its modern history, its population used to be predominantly German, so don’t be surprised to hear a lot of German spoken there.
Edinburgh, Scotland
Perched on a series of extinct volcanoes and rocky crags which rise from the generally flat landscape, Edinburg has wonderfully striking setting and one of the most spectacular holiday celebrations in a uniquely Scottish atmosphere. Edinburgh Castle is a magnificently situated royal fortress located on one of the highest points in the city. The castle has been continuously in use for 1000 years and is in excellent condition. Holiday fireworks illuminate the sky from Edinburgh Castle to the Holyrood Palace. Bagpipes playing “Amazing Grace” around the Sir Walter Scott Monument serve even better than carolers. This Scottish gem combines medieval relics and Georgian grandeur with a modern life.
Prague, Czech Republic Lined with incredible Gothic and Baroque architecture, Prague sets mind blowing settings for sparkling Christmas decorations. With some six hundred years of architecture virtually untouched by natural disaster or war, few other cities in Europe look as good as Prague. Straddling the winding River Vltava, with a steep wooded hill to one side, the city retains much of its medieval layout. Add to this the various holiday markets in Old Town and you’ll have a holiday experience you will never forget.
Hong Kong, China Fantastic displays, excellent food, exclusive shopping, mild and even sunny weather - the Hong Kong Winterfest was named by the American CNN television network one of the Top 10 places to spend Christmas in the whole world. East Asia’s most extraordinary city doesn’t let Christmas pass without a fanfare. You can see the Christmas lights on 40 buildings along the Victoria Harbor choreographed in a light show with sunning decorations and laser imagery. Victoria Harbor is a dazzling sight especially when the fireworks burst in the sky on New Year’s Eve. Christmas music blasts from speakers everywhere. Hong Kong is known as the Oriental Pearl with a twist of British influence in the culture. This former British colony is a unique destination that has absorbed people and cultural influences from places as diverse as Vietnam and Vancouver and proudly proclaims itself to be Asia's World City. Although part of China, Hong Kong operates like a tiny country with its own currency, laws, international dialling code, police force, border controls and the like.
If you want something completely opposite to traditional Christmas festivities, a vacation on the famed Island of the Gods, Bali, will do the trick! While Canada is bundled up for chill and snow, Indonesia is summer paradise. Instead of carols, listen to the haunting sounds of the gamelan gong for a change. Bali, with its varied landscape of hills and mountains, rugged coastlines and sandy beaches, lush rice terraces and barren volcanic hillsides all providing a picturesque backdrop to its colourful, deeply spiritual and unique culture. The combination of hospitable people, ancient temples, spectacular beaches with great surfing and diving, wreaths of rice plants and flowers, holiday meals of Indonesian green-tea noodles with seafood in bonito broth, have made Bali one of the world's most popular island destinations and one which consistently wins travel awards. Bali has something to offer to everyone, from young back-packers to the super-rich. It is the perfect Christmas away from home.
Bali, Indonesia
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Developing at an unbelievable pace in the tourist and trade sectors, Dubai is one of the most unusual destinations to spend your winter holidays vacations. Dubai makes a great short break for shopping at enormous malls, sunbathing, fine dining, sporting events, and even a few sinful pleasures. It is a city of superlatives: for the fastest, biggest, tallest, largest and highest, Dubai is the destination. Even though the temperature there in December is about 27oC and there are no mountains around, you can chill out in the ski resort. Ski Dubai is an indoor ski resort that has five snowy slopes (including an indoor black diamond) and covers an area equivalent to three football fields. It is a part of the Mall of the Emirates, one of the largest shopping malls in the world. To warm up after a snowboarding lesson, grab a cup of hot chocolate at the Avalanche CafĂŠ or simply go to a beach.
Las Vegas is known for doing everything grand and great. Christmas is no exception. Nicknamed the Entertainment Capital of the World, Las Vegas features many mega-hotel/casino complexes decorated with lavish care and attention to detail creating a fantasy-like environment. The casinos often have names and themes that evoke romance, mystery, and exotic destinations. The hotelcasinos are close enough to each other to make discovering the city by foot reasonable. Many hotels are connected to each other either by bridge, by underground, or by complimentary rail shuttle, allowing you to travel between them often without stepping outside at all. During the winter holidays season the Vegas Strip will be full of holiday spirit as the casinos try to out-do each other with decorations, lights and mega-Christmas trees.
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
DON’T FORGET!
New Road Safety Rules (in effect from September 1, 2015)
DISTRACTED DRIVING $490 3 +
demerit points $490 fine and 3 demerit points upon conviction
Minimum 30-day licence suspension for novice drivers upon conviction Who is a novice driver? It is the one with a G1, G2, M1, M2, M2-L or M2-M licence
In Ontario, it is illegal for drivers to talk, text, type, dial or email using hand-held cell phones and other hand-held devices. • If current collision trends continue, fatalities from distracted driving may exceed those from drinking and driving by 2016. • Research indicates that a driver who uses a cell phone is four times more likely to be in a crash.
30 days
SCHOOL BUSES $2,000 and 6 demerit points for a first conviction for drivers failing to stop for a school bus School buses are the only buses permitted to be chrome yellow
TOW TRUCKS $490 fine for drivers who do not slow down and move over when approaching tow trucks with amber lights flashing on the roadside.
NEW SPEED LIMITS 30 km/h in Downtown Toronto
CYCLISTS 1 metre
Drivers need to keep a one-metre distance where possible when passing cyclists or they may face the penalty of a $110 fine and 2 demerit points.
$365 and 3 demerit points for opening a door into passing cyclists and traffic An estimated 1.2 million Ontarians ride a bicycle on a daily basis. A bike must have a white front light and a red rear light or reflector if you ride between ½ hour before sunset and ½ hour after sunrise, and white reflective tape on the front forks and red reflective tape on rear forks.
$110 fine for cyclists who do not have proper lights and reflectors Fines as listed include the Victim Fine Surcharge and Court Costs. Prepared by Carlos Perdomo Licensed Paralegal
www.toronto3d.ca
Whether you are a religious person or not, especially if you live in a such international and multicultural city like Toronto, it’s hard to deny that walking through beautifully decorated streets provides a certain warm feeling. So, this article invites you to virtually explore the stunning old-world charm atmosphere that only European Christmas can offer. Starting in early December, Bavaria is transformed into a Christmas land that will again immerse people in the magic. With its fairytale villages and towns, scintillating lights, exquisite Christmas gifts, choral singing and a great selection of succulent German treats, get ready to be enchanted.
The magic of Christmas in Bavaria Germany's most popular tourist destination, Bavaria is what many non-Germans probably have in mind when they think about Germany. Bavarians are the proudest of all Germans. About 60% of Bavarians are Catholics which are loyal to their roots and traditions. You can hardly find a better place in the Christian World to celebrate Christmas: Christmas there is quintessential.
Munich Sparkling Christmas decorations, unique Christmas markets, churches and cathedrals with holiday singing and organ recitals, shopping streets and the romantic background of the snow-capped Alps – Munich is a wonderful city to enjoy the holiday season. The capital of Bavaria, Munich is famous for its beauty, fine culture, the annual Oktoberfest beer festival and no doubts – for Christmas celebrations. Munich's absolutely stunning architecture is second to none in Germany. Black and gold - the colours of the Holy Roman Empire - have been the city's official colours since the time of Ludwig the Bavarian, when it was an imperial residence.
"You do not even go somewhere else, I tell you there's nothing like Munich. Everything else is a waste of time in Germany" - Ernest Hemingway Munich offers visitors many sights and attractions. There is something for everyone, no matter if you are seeking arts and culture, shopping, fine dining, nightlife, sport events or Bavarian beer hall atmosphere. Three weeks before Christmas the Christkindlmarkt opens on Marienplatz and other squares in the city offering all manner of gifts. Glittering lights, mulled wine, and roast goose – enjoy all of the Christmas pleasures in the land of lederhosen.
Nuremberg When people think of Nuremberg, they usually imagine gingerbread, toys, Christmas market, famous Nuremberg sausages, and beer. The old town is probably comes closest to many peoples’ ideas about Christmas festivities, celebrations and expectations. Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition, as we now know it, in the 16th century, when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Half-timbered houses, gothic churches within a medieval city walls, the towering imperial castle (which was one of the most important residences of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire), and the breathtaking beauty of evergreens with their branches dusted with snow and shimmered in the moonlight - all these magical settings make Nuremberg exceptionally stunning during the Christmas time. Nuremberg looks like a perfect place where the Christmas tree legend was born.
Pulling in over 2 million visitors each year, Nuremburg is renowned for its impressive Christmas market with 200 select vendors who put up incredible displays in order to compete for the most beautiful kiosk design award. After dark the marketplace looks simply enchanting. You can take advantage of four cities à la carte for only 21 €. Any visitor who spends at least one night in Nuremberg, Fuerth, Erlangen or Schwabach is able to purchase the "Nürnberg Card." It includes free admission to 49 museums and attractions and free travel on all public transport services in Nuremberg and Fuerth. You also get 10-15% discounts on purchases in many shops and 10-20% - for theaters. Europe's largest IMAX cinema in the CineCittà Nuremberg offers the most current films for the lowers price.
This fairy-tale castle is well-known worldwide. Neuschwanstein is one of the most popular of all the palaces and castles in Europe. Every year 1.4 million people visit the place. The palace has appeared prominently in several movies and was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle and later, similar structures. Neuschwanstein Castle (English: "New Swanstone Castle") is a nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill near Füssen, an enchanting town known for the Hohes Schloss and its Basilica and former Benedictine monastery of St Mang. The castle was built by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as homage to Richard Wagner. Ludwig paid for the palace out of his personal fortune and by means of extensive borrowing, rather than Bavarian public funds. The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the shy king, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886.
Neuschwanstein Snowcapped mountaintops, fairy tale castles and Alpine villages glistening in white… Stunningly beautiful Munich, medieval Nuremberg with the oldest Christmas market in Germany, one of the most recognized castles in the world Neuschwanstein, Augsburg, Würzburg …Set against the background of the majestic Alps, storybook Bavaria’s cities, towns, villages and mighty castles aglow in their blankets of snow. They are filled with Christmas magic during the holiday season and offer some of the most picturesque settings in all of Europe.
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