One does not need a microscope or telescope to see how important or cherished Christmas is to the German community (the word community in this case encompasses those who are natives of German and those of us who are visitors.) I am privileged enough to have lived in both East and West cities of Germany; first having been Leipzig and now Berlin. In short, I have witnessed Christmas market, events leading up to Christmas, from both cities. One thing stands out, and that is Christmas market vibes. Before I proceed, it is better that I explain how the market is set. What the government does is to find a certain street, like the one I saw in Karl Marx Street here in Berlin, and bring wooded stalls and rent them to entrepreneurs whom then decorate it any how they wish, majority of them with Christmas lights and trees, and then pack their goodies. Therefore, civilians are able to walk around the street(s) and choose the goodies they love. In Leipzig, the Christmas market that I managed to attend was in the city centre, and the stalls were put in front of the shops, unlike here in Berlin, maybe it could be that Berlin does not have a one specific city centre. Anyway, this will be a subject for another day.
For entrepreneurs Christmas market is a quick way of making Euros (money). While on the other hand, for civilians (customers) the market gives them a chance to buy their favourite goodies which they usually do not buy often during the course of the year. One lady came to our marker, Sage-Net market, and bought lickrages (historically famous for Netherlands) type of sweets with sour taste to those of us who are not used to them, and she remarks that, “my daughter would love to have them for her Christmas gift.” Our Sage-Net stall is just a tiny fraction of the types of markets that do business in the Christmas market street. The market ranges from clothing (woollen made hats, scarf’s and jerseys), to bakery (fat cakes with lots of sugar, bread, baked cauliflowers), quick bite meat or meal (curry worst, hot dog), to wine (warm cooked or boiled wine) and to art for wall decoration (decorated pictures about the city and strategic places of the country.)
To many people, the price does not seem to bother them at all. For example, sweets or goodies which one would normally pay 2 Euros or so in a shop somewhere else could go up to 3-4 Euros in a Christmas market. I think to them is also about the environment and that makes everything worth it. Or even better, it could be due to the fact that the Christmas market happens once in a year. For entrepreneurs, if one is lucky enough, one ends up creating network of suppliers for his or her day to day business. Unlike, us at Sage-Net market who come here for a fundraising purpose for our South African civil organizations, other entrepreneurs do this for living. So, Christmas market really means the world to them.
The winter weather of Germany does not stop people from visiting the Christmas market. I make it a point that every time when I knock off from work(Sage—Net) I pass by the Christmas market at Alexanderplatz which is on the way to my residence and grab few goodies or just walk around and marvel to all the varieties of goodies that are at the market. The market also comes handy to beggars who would sometimes sleep hungry because here they have an opportunity to ask from lot of people. Even though, I heard that the social system here in Germany is very good. Maybe it could be the beggars that I see are either not officially registered to be in the country or that they need more money for something else. However, the Christmas market caters for all people of the community.
Kids, at some point, seem to be the main targeted market for entrepreneurs. Some markets have toys or goodies which are more pleasing to kids. Parents also have their preferences, but few of them actually manage to say no their kids demands, but majority go with the follow (LöL, I know you do not believe this.)
In peroration, I grew up in South Africa with the knowledge that Christmas is a celebration related to Jesus Christ. To my amazement, or rather what really caught my attention is the fact that, Christmas is highly sought after here in Germany. Yet, more than 60% of Berlin residents have no registered religious affiliation. The largest denominations in 2010 were the Protestant regional church body of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (EKBO.)
Could this mean that Christmas does not have to be associated with religion?
Religion in Berlin - 2010
Non religious 60.0%
Protestants 18.7%
Roman Catholics 9.1%
Muslims 8.1%
Other Christian 2.7%
Other religion 1.0%
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin?oldid=636582982
The first two pictures are were taken from the Sage-Net stall during set up.
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