Christmas Markets!

Oh my! I am like a kid in a candy store. I have heard about Christkindlmarkts for a long time. I experienced one in Lancaster PA last year and fell in love with the Kathe Wohlfahrt store immediately since my family and I have a love of The Nutcracker ballet. I even had my very first Gluhwein last year too, a warm mulled red wine drink found at the markets. So when I heard we were going to Italy, I had several people tell my about the Christmas markets. And you know, when many people tell you about one thing you should do, you get all excited and that excitement builds and builds. Your expectations become grand and you  hope that once you go, it's everything you'd hope it would be. Of course, now, having lived here for almost 6 months, I have learned to lower my expectations a tad and just enjoy what Italy has to offer. So far this season, I have attended 3 Christmas markets, all special and unique in their own way, and I hope to visit a few more as the season progresses.

First, a little about Christmas time here. The decorations, and yes surprise, surprise they decorate houses here, do not go out typically, before December 8th. This is the Day of the Immaculate Conception. Traditionally, up until a few years ago, Italy did not celbrate Christmas like we did. Christmas itself, was a religious holiday to celebrate the birth of Christ. The notion of presents and Santa Claus did not exist on this day. It was the Day of Epiphany, January 6th, when the children would hang their stockings out for Befana to deliver gifts. Befana, often confused with a witch, is a little old lady with tattered clothes, long hair and a broom who brings gifts to the children on this special day. She also represents the time when the decorations are to be cleaned up and put away, hence her broom. A few years back though, the Italians moved towards our celebration of Christmas, complete with the religious side and that of Santa Claus, or Bobbo Natale. The day of epiphany is still special and warrants its own festival downtown, but Befana doesn't bring as many gifts on that day. It is Santa Claus who has that pleasure. And at the Christmas markets, you can find him in his Santa hut, waiting to hear from boys and girls of all ages.

Our first Christmas market was up in the mountains in Asiago. The drive up was beautiful as I love the countryside and mountains. However the switchbacks made me feel as if I was on a roller coaster ride. The center of town was home to the market and there sat little wooden huts filled with food, drink and craft vendors. It was very quaint (and yes I mean small) but it was a great experience. We even walked the town for a little bit and enjoyed the shops. The next one we visited was Verona. Verona's Christmas market was larger and located in 3 piazzas. They also had the wooden huts for the vendors but here, Bobbo Natale was present. In addition to this, there was a good sampling of German food, as it was more like a German Christmas market than not, and wait for it....A large Kathe Wohlfahrt vendor in the center of the piazza. I was excited and of course, we came home with an Alpini Nutcracker. I liked this market because it had a good amount of vendors but it was still small. I am used to going to craft shows with 200-300 vendors. Sure they each have their own tables and displays and i may not like everything, it may even be redundant, but after attending craft shows for so long, this Christmas market didn't quite do it for me.

My last Christmas market i attended with a couple of my new friends. We drove about 3 hours north to Innsbruck Austria to enjoy the market there. I was very excited to go and after seeing it online and reading about it, I knew I would be happy. http://www.christkindlmarkt.cc/1-1-Home.html
There were five locations throughout the town and i think we hit about 4 of them. The last one required a ride up a side of a mountain and well, that didn't happen and we were too tired to find it anyhow. But I truly loved the little wooden houses and the Bavarian feel of the market!  We tried some traditional Austria goodness. There were the handmade potato chips and then the deep fried strudel hidden inside a ball of a dough and then dipped in sugar, caramel, chocolate, and other yummy goodness. We also enjoyed some Gluhwein, a warm German mulled wine. It was a bit spicier than I remember and not as good, but we still enjoyed sipping it. But I must say, the highlight of my day was watching the Austrians learn to line dance the cupid shuffle to another song not associated with the cupid shuffle. In all, it was a great day spent with good friends.