Who doesn’t enjoy a little shopping and celebrating at a holiday market? This year, I kicked off the season in the nation’s capital.
There are plenty of signs that let us know when the holidays have arrived.
Thanksgiving is one. Pumpkins and fall decorations appear in our homes and on doorsteps. They give way to Christmas trees, lights and garlands. Retailers start even earlier, sometimes before Halloween. Cities announce the season with towering Christmas trees, countdowns and someone who flips a switch.
Then holiday markets begin appearing along neighborhood streets and city plazas. Less of a production than a tree lighting, perhaps, but every bit as festive, possibly more.
The tradition goes back centuries to small German-speaking towns in Europe, where merchants gathered before Christmas to sell food and winter supplies. Over time, they added gifts, decorations and seasonal treats. The markets spread, communities made them their own and generations of shoppers kept returning.
I remember looking forward to those holidays as a kid — tagging along for that shopping, decorating the Christmas tree and tearing open the wrapping paper on Christmas morning to discover what was inside. These days, I look forward to the opening of holiday markets. For me, they mark the start of the season.
This year, I decided to do something different. I spent a spontaneous weekend in Washington, DC, around the Nov. 13 opening of the DowntownDC Holiday Market.
I flew in from Chicago the evening before and headed to my hotel, One Washington Circle DC, Tapestry Collection by Hilton (located at the crossroads of the West End and Foggy Bottom). I was looking forward to experiencing its midcentury-modern design. As I pulled up, the hotel’s unexpected and tasteful holiday decorations caught my attention.
The season arrived for me in Washington. The next morning, I headed downtown.
Washington opens its holiday market.
The DowntownDC Holiday Market began in 2005 along F Street NW, between 7th and 9th streets, in front of the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum. Today, more than 120 vendors set up shop for 40 days, through Dec. 23, with Thanksgiving the only day off.
And Washington’s local leaders know how to make an occasion of it.
Mayor Muriel Bowser joined Gerren Price, president and CEO of the DowntownDC Business Improvement District, and other community leaders to open the market. The festivities included the Washington Wizards Dancers, Ruff Ridaz percussion group and Maryland singer-songwriter Gëtte.
Price even joined in singing holiday songs. Beyond the stage, vendors had opened their stalls for another year of holiday shopping, food and festivities.
Do a little shopping, do a little celebrating.
Individual stalls are just steps apart. You stop to browse, ask a question or strike up a conversation with the person selling something that catches your eye.
Unlike the more traditional German market I know in Chicago, Washington DC‘s downtown market brings together local artisans and products from small businesses that represent different cultures.
I found puzzles, illustrated maps of cities, artwork, jewelry, handmade gifts and winter accessories. Some would make fine Christmas presents. Others have little to do with Christmas.
Shopping for winter accessories? Check out Winterborn Alpaca. Its collection includes scarves in a variety of colors and patterns, including a black-and-white design with a brown accent stripe that caught my attention, though I ultimately resisted for the moment — probably until I get home (I have many already).
People go to holiday markets for different reasons. Some browse alone, looking for a gift or something for home. Couples enjoy a stroll together. Families bring their children for the music, decorations and treats. Friends meet for an outdoor bite or drink — or both.
The people behind the stalls.
At a holiday market, you don’t need a shopping list. Just talk to the folks in the stalls. One of my more interesting conversations was with Arnim von Friedeburg of The Taste of Germany.
Arnim personally selects and imports German foods and specialty products for American customers. He sells online throughout the year, but Washington’s holiday market is his only in-person selling event each year.
He told me organizers approached him about participating some 15 years ago. He has returned ever since.
And he and his team knows how to prepare a bratwurst. Mine arrived perfectly cooked on a pretzel bun. His stall also offered regional German condiments, including Berlin curry ketchup, mild Swabian mustard and a hotter variety from the Rhineland. Knowing my preference for milder flavors over anything resembling a strong horseradish kick, I went with the mild mustard.
Arnim was the one distinctly German vendor I met.
Restaurants always make their presence known at these events. And in DC, there were several.
Carmine’s, known for its family-style Southern Italian cooking, served lasagna alongside an enormous lasagna display. I sampled it. Delicious. And China Chilcano (a Jose Andres restaurant) participated with Aeropuerto, a Peruvian-inspired dish combining fried rice, noodles and vegetables.
I’m fairly certain medieval German merchants didn’t serve Italian lasagna and Peruvian-inspired cooking at their Christmas markets. But I’m guessing they would have enjoyed it.
Christmas markets have traveled a long way from Germany.
Dresden’s Striezelmarkt dates to 1434, making it one of Germany’s oldest Christmas markets. Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt became famous for its wooden stalls, ornaments, gingerbread, sausages and warm spiced wine.
Both cities still celebrate with traditional Christmas markets. I’ve traveled to Germany a few times, but still need to get to Dresden and Nuremberg one day.
But I have passed through many European cities before and after their Christmas markets, somehow missing the festivities themselves. The same goes for Spain’s Three Kings celebrations in January.
Luckily, I’ve had better luck in downtown Chicago, but I would hope so because I live about a mile from it.
Christkindlmarket is inspired by Nuremberg, so Chicago’s market stays close to its German roots — with wooden stalls, imported ornaments, nutcrackers, decorations, sweets and seasonal gifts.
Then there’s the food.
Bratwurst, pretzels, roasted nuts, gingerbread and other German specialties are part of the experience. Add a beer or warm spiced red wine — Glühwein — and there’s little reason to hurry home.
I particularly enjoy mulled wine, especially when served in a souvenir ceramic mug. Some people collect them!
Charles Dickens would have appreciated the shopping. I suspect he might have made a few edits with his quill.
When he published A Christmas Carol in 1843, London’s shops offered chestnuts, fruit, poultry, spices and plenty of ingredients for holiday feasts. Dickens captured the excitement of Christmas shopping, even if Victorian London didn’t quite have the German-style markets we recognize today.
Ebenezer Scrooge might have enjoyed browsing the stalls, especially if he could avoid spending any money.
Getting him to purchase a souvenir mug of mulled wine might have required another visit from the Ghost of Christmas Present.
A holiday evening in Georgetown.
By evening, my Washington holiday outing had moved from F Street to Georgetown.
Filomena Ristorante — famous for its hand-rolled pasta and pasta window onsite — had gone all out for Christmas. Red garlands, reindeer, ornaments and nutcrackers seemed to occupy every available corner. Quite a contrast with the tasteful decorations that greeted me at my hotel.
After dinner, I headed to Blues Alley for an evening of jazz with Orrin Evans Trio.
Then it was back to my DC oasis at One Washington Circle, where nutcracker soldiers, Christmas trees and lights greeted me in my guest room.
The holiday season began today!
