Weihnachtsmärkte

In the past couple of weeks, I have discovered that German Christmas, and the weeks that come before it, are very very very very German. In every city, large or small, a Christmas Market, or Weihnachtsmärkt, is held for four weeks before Christmas. This is the hub, the home, of all traditional German Christmas life.
Thus far, I have been to the Weihnachtsmärkt in the center of Jena almost every day since it opened the weekend before December. I have also been to an alternative Christmas Market in an old factory in Jena, the market in Weimar, the market in Leipzig, and I am going to the one in Erfurt this Sunday. It’s very nice to have a chance to see so many new cities and learn about their history, by way of my friends and my host mother. Throughout this learning, I have realized that I enjoy Christmas Markets, even though I have also quickly realized they are almost all the same. 
At each market, you see booth after booth of German Christmas decorations, all of which are super traditional. Most are made of wood, show classic Christmas themed pictures, and range from simple ornaments to hang on your tree, to complex, three-foot-tall, perfectly crafted pyramids that move by the power of candle light. Other popular themes for stands include pottery, jewelry, wooden animals, paper lights that are shaped like stars, fancy candles, bags, and chocolate shaped like things you find in a toolbox…
Although all of this is definitely exciting, it does get a little repetitive and a little less interesting as time goes on. Luckily for me, there is one thing I love that will bring me back to any event over and over again for the rest of my life, and that is food. I would approximate that about 87% of people that are at a Christmas market at any given time are just there to drink glühwein with their friends. Glühwein is warm, sweet wine that tastes delicious and is perfect for the cold winter. At Weihnachtsmärkte, it is accompanied by a wide variety of sausages, crepes, sugar-covered roasted nuts, liebeskuchen, and much much more.
Christmas markets are the perfect, German, holiday experience. I’m sure I will go to many more before they come to a close, enjoy a lot more glühwein with my friends, and hopefully swing by Germany every few winters for Weihnachtsmärkte to come.