21st Annual Christkindlmarkt. Benefiting multiple charities in the Sacramento area.

Christmas Music, Arts, Crafts, Ornaments, Cookies and Cakes for sale, Nurnberg sausage dinner, Gluhwein, Authentic Saint Nickolaus.

In the German outdoor Christmas Markets tradition, the Sacramento Turn Verein offers the community an annual Christkindlmarkt for holiday shopping and entertainment. Highlights of this festive weekend-long event include:

• 28 booths featuring local vendors
• Lebkuchen and Magenbrot, traditional German baked Christmas treats
• Glühwein, also known as mulled wine
• Daily appearances of Santa Claus and the German Christkind

Note: All vendor stations for the 2022 Christkindlmarkt are sold out.  To join the waiting list for 2023 vendors, call 916-442-7360 or email stv@sacramentoturnverein.com.

History In many towns in Germany and Austria, Advent is usually ushered in with the opening of the town’s Christmas Market, also called a Christkindlmarkt (Christ child market). Generally held in the town square and pedestrian zones, the market combines food and drink in the open air, shopping, pageantry, and tradition. On opening night and, in some towns, every night, onlookers welcome the Christkind, or Christ child, in the form of a golden-haired angel, played by local youth.

Some of the most popular items at the market are:

• Crèche, nativity scenes
• Zwetschgamännla (figures made of decorated dried plums)
• Nussknacker (carved Nutcrackers)
• Gebrannte Mandeln (candied, toasted almonds)
• Christstollen or Stollen (a sort of egg bread with candied fruit)

The most famous Christmas markets are held in Nürnberg, Dresden, and Stuttgart, making them popular tourist stops. Each year, the Nürnberg and Dresden markets draw about two million visitors, and the Stuttgart market attracts more than three million visitors. Other well-known markets are held in Köln, Bonn, Lübeck, Wien, Salzburg, and Villach.