Alsace, a French region bordering Germany, is famous for its Christmas traditions, half-timbered houses known to tourists as “gingerbread houses,” and hundreds of fairs. We will tell you about the best places, local delicacies and ancient traditions of this amazing region.
Christmas traditions of Alsace
In Alsace, Christmas holidays begin on November 25, St. Catherine’s Day. The next four weeks are filled with holidays, carnivals and fairs. In every house they hang a Christmas wreath made of fir branches, ribbons and candles, and an Advent calendar (a box with 24 windows, counting down the days until Christmas; in each window there is candy and a note with wishes). Don’t miss the huge advent calendar on the town square in Turckheim. Every day at 17.00 a new calendar window is opened and a performance for children is shown.
The main symbol of Christmas and New Year, the Christmas tree, appeared in Alsace in 1521 and was originally decorated with red apples and waffles. The region’s most beautiful Christmas tree can be found at Place Kléber in Strasbourg, where it sparkles in the center of the fair.
In all cities of Alsace, on December 6, a costume parade of St. Nicholas, who is considered the patron saint of children and has been revered since the 9th century, takes place. The ceremony is led by a saint dressed as a bishop on a sleigh pulled by a donkey. St. Nicholas is surrounded by children dressed as angels, who hand out candies and tangerines to the audience.
Christmas delicacies of Alsace
Be sure to try the Alsatian Christmas sweets:
- anise cookies with bredele glaze
- almond gingerbread lekerle
- Christmas log Christstolle (christstolle)
Sweets, meat and mulled wine are sold at Christmas markets and fairs, of which there are several hundred in the region from mid-November to the end of December.
The largest gastronomic fair takes place in the city of Obernai on December 30 and 31. There you will find everything that Alsace is famous for – foie gras, spices, dried and candied fruits, chocolate and sausages. For gingerbread lovers, we recommend visiting the village of Gertwiller, the capital of gingerbread. There you can try hundreds of types of gingerbread and visit the Gingerbread Museum.
From December 1, brewers and winemakers of Alsace open their doors for tastings, where you can taste wines, ales and dozens of types of beer, among which I would like to mention dark Christmas beer, strong and spicy.
Christmas fairs and markets
The tradition of Christmas markets in Alsace appeared at the beginning of the 16th century and over the past 500 years their appearance has not changed much. The largest fairs are held in Strasbourg, Colmar and Mulhouse, and more than a hundred markets in small towns and villages. A complete list of them is available here.
During the Advent period, all markets in the region are divided into 7 zones, which are called “7 Christmas countries”. Each country is famous for its craft. In the “Land of Secrets”, next to the Agno forest, the best ceramics in the region are sold at the Soufflenaim and Bötschdorf markets. The best products made of glass and rock crystals are sold in the city of Vinjean-sur-Moder in the “Land of Fire”. At the fair in Mulhouse, in the “Land of Songs and Fine Fabrics,” fabrics are sold everywhere.
The market in Ribeauville will take you back to the Middle Ages: sellers are dressed in historical costumes, delicacies are prepared according to ancient recipes, and stalls are decorated in medieval style. Jungersheim is home to the Alsace Eco-Museum, where 70 buildings were brought from all over the region and a model Alsatian village was recreated. Each house has a recreated interior from the 16th to the 19th century, there are workshops, livestock live in barns.
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