Did you know? Strasbourg was the first Christmas market in France
Strasbourg’s famous Christmas Market, which attracts two million visitors a year, is the oldest in France, and for many years it was the only one.
In the 13th century, there was a toy market to celebrate the feast of Saint Nicholas on December 6, which in this part of the country was the day of the distribution of gifts.
At the start of the 16th century, Strasbourg converted from the Catholic faith to the new Protestant faith. This led, says Sophie Balland, from the Strasbourg Tourist Office, to the creation of a new Christmas market in 1570:
“The Protestant leaders wanted nothing to do with the saints and decided to replace the old market with one that bears the name of the baby Jesus, in the Alsatian dialect, Christkindelsmärik. It was undoubtedly the first Christmas market in France.
Over the centuries, it has changed its location. It started on the cathedral square, then moved to the place Kléber then to the place Broglie. Now it is much bigger with 300 chalets and spread across different areas of the city.
She has always sold items related to local Christmas traditions, many of which started in Alsace and then spread across Europe:
“The first record of Christmas trees is in the municipal register of Sélestat, dated 1521, 600 years ago,” explains Sophie Balland.
Forest rangers were paid four schillings by the council to guard the forest and fine anyone who cut fir trees. In 1600, the master of ceremonies of the town hall noted the local traditions with a passage supposed to give the first description of a decorated Christmas tree in Alsace.
“The glass balls to hang on trees were first produced in Meisenthal in Alsace,” continues Sophie Balland. “Usually the red apples were hanging from the branches, but a year ago there weren’t any, so the glassmakers replaced them with balls that they made themselves. ”
The market flourished until the 1970s and 1980s when newer supermarkets proved to be more attractive places to buy gifts. In 1992, Strasbourg city council made the positive decision to invest time, money and energy in the market and declared the city the Capital of Christmas.
“It worked”, explains Sophie Balland, “The idea was to reflect both the commercial and human assets of the city. The emphasis is on making it a warm and friendly occasion, brightening up dark days steeped in Christmas traditions.
The market went through rough times recently with a terrorist attack that left five people dead in 2018 and last year had to be called off due to Covid. On average, it attracts TWO million visitors per year. Ms Balland hopes, but cannot be sure, that there will be so many more people this year. It opens on November 26 at the end of the month.
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