How it shines! How it glitters! How it flashes! The Christmas and Christkindl markets are finally open everywhere. People still want to save a little energy in some cities, but the issue of electricity consumption is no longer as present as it was last winter. No, it should be festive so that visitors come from near and far. And in some places this seems to work particularly well.
Because somehow everything is measurable, even festivity. How it works? Well, you take the number of Christmas markets and distribute it among the residents. The more mulled wine-filled Advent stalls, the more festive. According to the Accor hotel group, which has calculated this for various German cities, Regensburg ranks at the top with 0.46 Christmas markets per 10,000 inhabitants. Mainz follow far behind with 0.27 and Hanover with 0.23. Much further back, in seventh place, is a city called Nuremberg. Christmas market factor: a mediocre 0.10 Christmas markets per 10,000 inhabitants, slightly more than Berlin and Bottrop.
Nuremberg? Christmas? Wasn’t there something? Oh, that’s right, an event that is not so insignificant in terms of Advent tourism called the Christkindlesmarkt, is estimated to attract two million visitors from all over the world and was first mentioned in 1628. But, well, for a place on the podium in the festivities ranking you would need not just this one, but a few more of them.
To save Nuremberg’s honor, it should be said: If you add a few other, also extremely objective calculation factors, such as the number of chocolate shops, Christmas events, skating rinks, as well as the average winter temperature, Nuremberg still manages to reach a respectable second place in the German ranking. However, you can’t get past Regensburg.
What else can the people of Nuremberg do? For more festive bling, get all the fairy lights out of the basement, polish them and wrap them around your house? Buy the remaining stock of glow-in-the-dark deer at the hardware store and place it at the street intersections? According to the anti-light pollution initiative “Godfathers of the Night” there are already more than enough Christmas lights in Germany, an estimated 20 billion, which can really disrupt the day-night rhythm of birds and insects.
No, the good old candle is much more effective when it comes to festivities. Let’s do the math: If one were placed in every household in Nuremberg, that would result in 5,300 candles per 10,000 inhabitants. Phenomenally festive, right?
The author can only tolerate Christmas markets in the smallest possible dosage: a maximum of one visit per year.
(Photo: Schifferdecker (illustration))