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Explore Europes Holiday
Traditions and Christmas Markets
All Europe sparkles during the holiday season, as most countries
celebrate for weeks with brilliant decorations, timeless traditional
events, and the famous Christmas markets.
A river cruise follows the ancient waterways that connect Europes
cities and countries. Returning to the slow, gentle pace of travel
leaves more energy to explore city centers for holiday fun.
The river links traditions of multiple countries on one unforgettable
trip. Savor the tastes and sights of the holidays, and find the roots of
your own holiday memories.
Celebrate the Holidays Across Europe
Visitors can enjoy todays popular, non-religious aspects along with the original, religious
meanings.
Christmas Day celebrates the birth of the Christ Child (Germanys Christmas fairs are
called Christkindlesmarktliterally Christ Child Market), so the focus is on children
creating warm, magical memories and indulging the childlike wonder in all of us.
Christmas markets across Europe are filled with strolling carolers and rows of brightly
decorated stalls selling traditional foods and gifts reserved for this special time of year.

Ancient Holiday Traditions Survive and Change
Throughout the month-long season, thousands of Christmas Markets open across
Europe, with the oldest and largest found in key cities all along the riverways.
Germanys oldest recorded market dates to 1393.
Follow the scent of grilled sausages, freshly baked cookies and spicy gingerbread
mingling in the crisp winter air as you stroll among hundreds of stalls.
Listen for the crackle and pop of roasted chestnuts, and enjoy an old-time treat in a
paper cone that keeps your hands warm as you walk.
The visual feast is no less rewarding with layers of sparkling lights reflected in a fresh
dusting of snow. Stalls are filled with colorful hand-carved toys, dolls, nutcrackers,
and ornaments.
Europes Magical Christmas Markets
Everywhere there are small symbols of holiday joy to decorate your tree,
table, or mantel. Nativity scenes, or crches, represent the tableau of Mary
and Joseph with the Christ child in a manger.
Crches were popularized by St. Francis of Assisis display in 1223, building
a live scene complete with animals. Different regions adapt local materials,
like terra cotta figures in France.
In Naples, Italy, crches (or presepi) became elaborate scenes displaying
richly dressed characters, intended for grand homes of wealthy aristocrats.
Away in a Manger Nativity Scenes
Christmas trees grew out of 16th century Germany, when Catholic religious
images were banned.
German settlers in Pennsylvania brought the Christmas tree to the New
World in the early 19th century.
When Queen Victorias family embraced the tradition, English and American
families adopted it at home, with decorations and gifts under the tree.
Our Favorite Christmas Traditions
Advent calendars count down the days leading up to Christmas. Each day is
represented by one tiny door for children to open. Behind it is a poem, image, small toy,
or a chocolate.
First formally printed in Germany in 1908, the tradition spread throughout Europe and
was transported to America by immigrants.
Today, it celebrates the excitement children feel as Christmas approaches. Glittering
calendars of all sizes are abundant in Europes Christmas markets and shops
throughout the season.
The Advent Calendar
The Epiphany, January 6, celebrates the arrival of the gift-bearing Three Wise Men to
honor the Christ child in the manger. It is a familiar gift-giving day across Europe for the
last celebration of the Christmas season.
Gifts for good children in Germany arrive with St. Nicholasor St. Klauson his saints
day, December 6. More gifts arrive around the Christmas tree on December 25, and
even more on the Epiphany.
In Italy, La Befana, a good witch, visits homes on her broom, bringing small treats and
toys for children. Her title comes from the Italian name for Epiphany, Befana.
Holiday Gift-giving
Beginning with joyful church celebrations in honor of the Christ childs birth,
Christmas carols have migrated across the many cultures of Europe and on
to the New World.
Once again, German traditions dominate our current favorites in popular
carols such as:
"Away in a Manger," using the words of Martin Luther,
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing," based on a Felix Mendelssohn melody, and
Silent Night, composed in an Austrian village near Salzburg in 1818 by organist
Franz Gruber.

The Sounds of Holiday Music
Christmas in Europe is all about food, from treats on-the-go to elaborate feasts.
Each country or region has favorites, some dating back hundreds of years.
Look for these in your holiday travels:
Germany Gingerbread houses, first recorded in the Grimm Brothers fairy
tale of Hansel and Gretel, were perhaps inspired by the gingerbread bakers
trade guild founded in Nuremberg in 1643.
France bche de Nol, or yule log, a decadently rich sponge cake,
covered with chocolate cream, shaped like the yule log, and dusted with
powdered sugar for snow.
Christmas cookies every village has its recipes, folding in local ingredients
and special delicacies. Sample them wherever you go, with a rich, dark cup
of hot cocoa or coffee.
Europes Favorite Holiday Treats
Nuremberg, Germany Christkindlesmarkt, where close to 200 wood stalls draped in red
and white are bursting with sweets, angels, candles, and handcrafted ornaments.
Budapest, Hungary Christmas Market on Vorosmarty Square, the oldest and largest of
Budapests multiple markets, each with a mix of treats from mulled wine and sausages, to
baked delicacies and handmade ornaments.
Strasbourg, France After 442 years, the Marchs de Nol has become a must-visit. The
largest and best known in France, it celebrates Alsatian traditions with choirs of carolers,
ornaments, and handcrafted toys in 300 chalets over 11 sites.


Christmas Market River Cruising
AmaWaterways is an award-winning river cruise operator, providing all-
inclusive excursions that open cultural doors along the great waterways of
Europe, Russia, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Their rapidly growing fleet of
custom-designed ships leads travelers to life-changing, restorative
experiences that always exceed expectations.
For more information, please visit www.AmaWaterways.com
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