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Since 1570, Strasbourg deploys its Christmas market around its prestigious Cathedral.
With its few 300 chalets spread over 11 sites in the heart of the city, it is also one of the largest Christmas markets in Europe.
This year, Strasbourg welcomes Belgium, whose charms you can discover, at the Belgian Village.

Christmas market, of which Alsace is the cradle, was born from a long history and a few turbulent episodes that gave birth to this cultural phenomenon deeply rooted in the hearts of Alsatians.

The history of the Alsatian Christmas market was not a long calm river. As for its roots, neither were they Christians. Let's go back a few centuries.

A long time ago, when men lived in close ties with nature, when the sun was scarce and we approached the winter solstice, we compensated for the lack of light and heat by having a feast with lots of pork, beer and new wine, as if to recall the beautiful days to come in the cycle of time always restarted.

Later, it was the saints who supplanted Mother Nature. The markets were placed under the aegis of Saint-Martin (11 November) then Saint-Nicolas, from the 14th century, in Germany then in Alsace. The first famous because he knew how to share his tunic with the poor and the second venerated because he performed many miracles but also for the innumerable gifts he intended for children., main beneficiaries of the Christmas holidays.

Smile Christkindelsmärik, or “Baby Jesus Market”, is the name given in the Alsatian dialect to the traditional Christmas market which has been held since 1570 in Strasbourg, in Alsace, and was for a long time the only one in France. It begins on the first Saturday of Advent and ends on 31 on the evening of December. The Christkindelsmärik attracts two million visitors from all over the world every year.

The Christkindelsmärik in Strasbourg is one of the oldest Christmas markets, which were specific to the Germanic world. The most famous was that of Nuremberg, but those of Frankfurt, Dresden and Berlin were also very famous1. In the middle Ages, a market was organized in Strasbourg in anticipation of the feast of Saint Nicolas the 6 December. It is indeed to this saint, bishop of Myra in Turkey in the 4th century, that the role of giver of gifts was attributed to children. To allow parents to obtain treats and toys, a market, called in Alsatian "Klausemärik", was then installed a few days before this date2.

The Protestant Reformation was adopted by the city of Strasbourg in 1525 and, en 1570, in the cathedral then dedicated to Protestant worship, Pastor Johannes Flinner spoke out against the practice of giving gifts to children on St. Nicholas' Day3. This practice, considered "papist", gave a saint4 the rewarding role of donor. Pastor Flinner advocated symbolically entrusting this mission to Christ, in the form of the child Jesus. Impressed by this sermon, the Strasbourg Council of XXI5 decided on 4 December 1570 to abolish Saint-Nicolas, but to authorize traders to hold their market three days before this date. There were sellers of dolls and other toys, candlesticks (or sellers of candles and wax candles), vendors of gingerbread and sweets1, but this market was also a real annual fair, which attracted merchants from afar to Strasbourg6.

The market of Saint-Nicolas has therefore been replaced by that of the child Jesus, called “Christkindel” in the Alsatian dialect, and the delivery of gifts, her too, date changed to Christmas Eve. It was therefore the Protestant influence that launched this new Strasbourg use of a market before Christmas. She also created this Christkindel character, who replaced the holy bishop Nicolas to enter the homes and bring their gifts to the children.

Merry Christmas to all !
Coco Lodge