On a snowy night in Nuremberg, a city that encapsulates the best and worst of Germany, a huge crowd has gathered in the ancient Marktplatz for the opening of the Christkindlesmarkt, Bavaria’s biggest Christmas market. Cradling mugs of steaming Glühwein, stamping our feet to keep out the cold, we’re all waiting for the Christkind (Christ Child) to appear on the balcony of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), an event that marks the start of Nuremberg’s Advent season.
Five hundred years ago, Nuremberg was one of the biggest cities in Central Europe
Turns out we have Martin Luther to thank for this quaint Teutonic custom. Before the Reformation, German children used to get presents from St Nicolas on 6 December, but Luther didn’t approve of saints, so he decided children should wait until Christmas Eve and receive their gifts from Christ himself. Despite his best efforts, St Nicolas never went away and all across Central Europe the Christkind still runs him a close second.
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