Explore europe’s holiday traditions and christmas markets

Explore Europe’s Holiday Traditions and Christmas Markets PRESENTED BY AmaWaterways

Celebrate the Holidays Across Europe

• All Europe sparkles during the holiday season, as most countries celebrate for weeks with brilliant decorations, timeless traditional events, and the famous Christmas markets.

• A river cruise follows the ancient waterways that connect Europe’s cities and countries. Returning to the slow, gentle pace of travel leaves more energy to explore city centers for holiday fun.

• The river links traditions of multiple countries on one unforgettable trip. Savor the tastes and sights of the holidays, and find the roots of your own holiday memories.

Ancient Holiday Traditions Survive and Change

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Visitors can enjoy today’s popular, non-religious aspects along with the original, religious meanings.

Christmas Day celebrates the birth of the Christ Child (Germany’s Christmas fairs are called Christkindlesmarkt—literally “Christ Child Market”), so the focus is on children— creating warm, magical memories and indulging the childlike wonder in all of us.

Christmas markets across Europe are filled with strolling carolers and rows of brightly decorated stalls selling traditional foods and gifts reserved for this special time of year.

Europe’s Magical Christmas Markets

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Throughout the month-long season, thousands of Christmas Markets open across Europe, with the oldest and largest found in key cities all along the riverways.

Germany’s oldest recorded market dates to 1393.

Follow the scent of grilled sausages, freshly baked cookies and spicy gingerbread mingling in the crisp winter air as you stroll among hundreds of stalls.

Listen for the crackle and pop of roasted chestnuts, and enjoy an old-time treat in a paper cone that keeps your hands warm as you walk.

The visual feast is no less rewarding with layers of sparkling lights reflected in a fresh dusting of snow. Stalls are filled with colorful hand-carved toys, dolls, nutcrackers, and ornaments.

Away in a Manger – Nativity Scenes

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Everywhere there are small symbols of holiday joy to decorate your tree, table, or mantel. Nativity scenes, or crèches, represent the tableau of Mary and Joseph with the Christ child in a manger.

Crèches were popularized by St. Francis of Assisi’s display in 1223, building a live scene complete with animals. Different regions adapt local materials, like terra cotta figures in France.

In Naples, Italy, crèches (or presepi) became elaborate scenes displaying richly dressed characters, intended for grand homes of wealthy aristocrats.

Our Favorite Christmas Traditions

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Christmas trees grew out of 16th century Germany, when Catholic religious images were banned.

German settlers in Pennsylvania brought the Christmas tree to the New World in the early 19th century.

When Queen Victoria’s family embraced the tradition, English and American families adopted it at home, with decorations and gifts under the tree.

The Advent Calendar

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Advent calendars count down the days leading up to Christmas. Each day is represented by one tiny door for children to open. Behind it is a poem, image, small toy, or a chocolate.

First formally printed in Germany in 1908, the tradition spread throughout Europe and was transported to America by immigrants.

Today, it celebrates the excitement children feel as Christmas approaches. Glittering calendars of all sizes are abundant in Europe’s Christmas markets and shops throughout the season.

Holiday Gift-giving

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The Epiphany, January 6, celebrates the arrival of the gift-bearing Three Wise Men to honor the Christ child in the manger. It is a familiar gift-giving day across Europe for the last celebration of the Christmas season.

Gifts for good children in Germany arrive with St. Nicholas—or St. Klaus—on his saint’s day, December 6. More gifts arrive around the Christmas tree on December 25, and even more on the Epiphany.

In Italy, La Befana, a good witch, visits homes on her broom, bringing small treats and toys for children. Her title comes from the Italian name for Epiphany, Befana.

The Sounds of Holiday Music

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Beginning with joyful church celebrations in honor of the Christ child’s birth, Christmas carols have migrated across the many cultures of Europe and on to the New World.

Once again, German traditions dominate our current favorites in popular carols such as: – "Away in a Manger," using the words of Martin Luther, – “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing," based on a Felix Mendelssohn melody, and – “Silent Night,” composed in an Austrian village near Salzburg in 1818 by organist Franz Gruber.

Europe’s Favorite Holiday Treats

Christmas in Europe is all about food, from treats on-the-go to elaborate feasts.

Each country or region has favorites, some dating back hundreds of years.

Look for these in your holiday travels: •

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Germany – Gingerbread houses, first recorded in the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel, were perhaps inspired by the gingerbread bakers trade guild founded in Nuremberg in 1643.

France – bûche de Noël, or yule log, a decadently rich sponge cake, covered with chocolate cream, shaped like the yule log, and dusted with powdered sugar for snow.

Christmas cookies – every village has its recipes, folding in local ingredients and special delicacies. Sample them wherever you go, with a rich, dark cup of hot cocoa or coffee.

Christmas Market River Cruising

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Nuremberg, Germany – Christkindlesmarkt, where close to 200 wood stalls draped in red and white are bursting with sweets, angels, candles, and handcrafted ornaments.

Budapest, Hungary – Christmas Market on Vorosmarty Square, the oldest and largest of Budapest’s multiple markets, each with a mix of treats from mulled wine and sausages, to baked delicacies and handmade ornaments.

Strasbourg, France – After 442 years, the Marchés de Noël has become a must-visit. The largest and best known in France, it celebrates Alsatian traditions with choirs of carolers, ornaments, and handcrafted toys in 300 “chalets” over 11 sites.

Contact

AmaWaterways is an award-winning river cruise operator, providing allinclusive excursions that open cultural doors along the great waterways of Europe, Russia, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Their rapidly growing fleet of custom-designed ships leads travelers to life-changing, restorative experiences that always exceed expectations.

For more information, please visit www.AmaWaterways.com