In a few weeks, I will be participating in a local Christmas Market, more specifically the weekend of November 20-21. It will be my first participation in this market which has been running for several years now. At the same time, one of the art groups I belong to is calling their current show, which runs from this week to the beginning of January, “Marché de Noël”. We received a small pamphlet in the mail this week promoting more than a dozen “Christmas Markets” that will take place in the electoral riding of our local member of parliament. So apparently Christmas Markets are a big thing now! But when did that happen? They certainly weren’t popular when I was growing up, or even when my children were small! Come with me and discover a bit of the history behind the Christmas Market! According to Wikipedia, Christmas Markets (I will call them CMs from now on if you don’t mind!) originated in Germany, and date back to the Late Middle Ages. They are traditionally held outdoors during the period leading to Christmas, or Advent, and they consist of booths or stalls offering foods and drinks such as mulled wine, cookies, candied nuts, sausages, etc. as well as traditional singing and dancing. A CM also often has a Nativity scene, crafts and artisans, Christmas decorations, and seasonal items for sale. One thing that is not mentioned in the article, but that is obvious from all the photos I have seen, is that most CMs happen in the dark, which isn’t really that difficult in northern climates in November and December!! The stalls are all lit up with lovely lights, giving the CM a very festive look! Some of the more popular CMs, such as those held in Dresden (considered to have held the first true Christmas Market in 1434), Stuttgart, Frankfurt, and Nuremberg, each attract millions of visitors per year. CMs are not only popular in Germany. Austria also holds several CMs including those of Vienna and Innsbruck, and Alsace has held a CM in Strasbourg since 1570! Spain has held a CM in Barcelona since 1786, and a relatively late entry into the Christmas Market market is England, where the first CM was in Lincoln in 1982. If you wish to read a more detailed account, here is a link to the full article. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_market But when did the CM become popular in Canada or Quebec? This turned out to be a lot harder to find out! I visited a lot of Christmas Market websites, but few of them seem to care much about their historical roots! I found out that the Kitchener "Christkndl Market" started in 1996 and that the one in Montreal is only about 5 years old. Some sources say the first CM in Quebec was in Joliette in 2007. Others credit Agathe Sauriol from L’Assomption for being a pioneer of the European tradition here, but they had their first market in 2009. One thing is clear, there is not much information on how they got started, and they are a very recent addition to Québécois traditions! This does not prevent them from having spread like wildfire, so much that there is even a Quebec association of Christmas Markets to help promote them! http://www.lesmarchesdenoelduquebec.com/Regroupement/ They have even produced a map to help you locate them! The Marché de Noël that I will be participating in is not the traditional type. It is held indoors, for one, which makes it a lot more comfortable for both visitors and stallholders, even if we will all have to be masked! I don’t know if there will be mulled wine, but I hope you will come by and say hello! If you live near Sherbrooke, there is a Christmas Market at the Marché de la Gare every weekend from November 27 to December 19, and if you wish to experience the more traditional German-style Christmas Market, there is one held in Quebec City starting November 25! https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/what-to-do-quebec-city/events/german-christmas-market
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AuthorMy name is Claire Bureau. Archives
March 2023
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