Status: 11/21/2022 9:06 p.m
Traditionally, Christmas markets in German-speaking countries usually open after Totensonntag. This is also the case this year – albeit with less lighting. After two years with corona restrictions, the stall owners are hoping for many visitors.
In many places, large Christmas markets have heralded the start of the Christmas season. For example, stalls opened in Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and Saxony-Anhalt.
After two years with Corona-related restrictions, many stall owners are hoping for lively activity and good sales.
Christmas tree at the Brandenburg Gate
In Berlin, meanwhile, another tradition was cultivated in front of the Brandenburg Gate: employees of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief set up a large Christmas tree there. The 15 meter high Nordmann fir with almost perfect pyramidal growth arrived on a low-loader from Thuringia and was erected by specialists on Pariser Platz with the help of a crane.
THW employees place a Christmas tree in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
Image: Carsten Koall/dpa-Bildfunk
As of tomorrow, the tree will be decorated with 15,000 LED lights and hundreds of Christmas balls, according to the organizer. From the 1st of Advent, it shines in all its splendor up to and including the festive period and, as in previous years, is likely to be the most photographed German Christmas tree.
Energy Crisis Restrictions
However, something is different this year: the lamps on the tree are only on between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. and not around the clock as usual. According to the organizer, this is intended as a sign that electricity must be saved in the energy crisis.
And not everything is like in the pre-crisis times at the country’s Christmas markets either. In this winter time, sellers and consumers have to get used to the special circumstances: Because of the energy crisis, the ice rinks were not put into operation in some places. Lighting will also be reduced in some markets.
Opening traditionally after Totensonntag
Traditionally, Christmas markets in German-speaking countries usually open after Totensonntag. However, some markets had opened earlier. In addition, there is an overall trend to no longer necessarily close the markets before Christmas Eve, but to keep them open between the years or even into January.