Despite the cold weather and short days, December usually flies by thanks to the anticipation leading up to Christmas, office parties, snow, advent calendars full of goodies, baking, shopping, wrapping, and finally Christmas Day.
Those looking for unique gifts or even more December fun have a myriad of Christmas Markets or Christkindl Markets to choose from across Pennsylvania.
Several Pennsylvania Christmas markets make the list of best ones in the nation. Of course, Bethlehem’s Christkindlmarkt has to make that list by virtue of the town name alone. Philadelphia’s Christmas Village around City Hall, People’s Gas Holiday Market in Pittsburgh, and many others attract thousands of visitors. The honor of the country’s oldest outdoor Christmas market goes to Mifflinburg’s Christkindl Market, which started in 1989.
I grew up in the tiny Central PA town of Mifflinburg in the days when the Buggy Museum was being created to note Mifflinburg’s role in building buggies for the country making it the Detroit of the buggy era. We had an annual Fireman’s Carnival and I believe Buggy Days might have started when I still lived there, but Christkindl, Octoberfest, and other great community events came after I left.
Since my return to Central Pennsylvania (Hershey) in 1998, I have gone to Christkindl in Mifflinburg almost every year. My kids, my parents, my friends, and my kids’ friends have all joined us for this festive event that features nearly 100 vendors selling handcrafted items, authentic German gifts, mulled wine, German beer, bratwursts, miniature Christmas houses, Hilby the Skinny German Juggle Boy who struts through the grounds on stilts before his performances, German bands, and so much more.
A most dignified St. Nicholas wanders the streets with his staff and long red velvet coat. Previously, a roving Christmas tree rolled up behind unsuspecting shoppers (the committee can’t find any volunteers who want to get inside the Christmas tree this year). A gigantic wooden Christmas pyramid sits in the center of the festivities that spread along multiple blocks of this small town of 3,400 people that swells with nearly 10,000 extra people during the three-day event.
Although other Christmas markets in the United States are bigger, Matt Wagner, the past president of Mifflinburg’s non-profit Christkindl Market, says that people from Germany and Austria who have visited have told Mifflinburg planners that the Mifflinburg Christkindl is “closer in authenticity to what you would find in Austria and Germany.”
Wagner said that some of the bigger more well-known markets are more commercialized and don’t feature the homegrown vendors as Mifflinburg strives to do. He said about 45 percent of the vendors come within 50 miles of Mifflinburg with many local.
The Christkindl runs both a pub serving authentic German spirits and a German gift shop with products made by family run shops from the town of Seiffen, Germany, which has become Mifflinburg’s official sister city. Each year, Mifflinburg picks a German or Austrian city as the theme for the market, and last year, it was Seiffen. This year, Innsbruck, Austria, is the theme city, which means market goers will see posters of Innsbruck and the Alps and the market will celebrate its culture and history.
The market is free, but welcomes donations with donation boxes set up at all four entryways to the market. “People give what they want and they’re very generous and we appreciate that generosity,” Wagner said.
The Christkindl Market nonprofit does quite well with proceeds from donations, the pub, and the gift shop, Wagner said, noting that it pays the borough for electricity and setting it up for the market along with all other market costs. He said that in good years, the nonprofit can pay its bills and then share gifts with other nonprofits such as the fire department, the community pool, and the Herr Memorial Library. It also sponsors a scholarship for Mifflinburg High School, primarily for students involved in community service.
The market benefits from community service, depending on volunteers to help with set up, tear down, and many other tasks. Like many organizations struggling to find volunteers, the market adds to its volunteer pool with help from the local Vocational-Technical school (SUN Area), which provides students from its carpentry and electrical shops to help with set up, and the Federal Correctional Institute in Lewisburg, which allows some low-risk inmates to help with set up. Wagner said a probation program in Union and Snyder counties also joined them to match individuals needing community service hours to help with market setup and teardown.
Most of us just walk the streets of the markets wrapped in our warm coats and boots, snacking on German treats, warming our bellies with the hot mulled wine, and enjoying the ambiance. Behind the scenes the committee members and volunteers work hard to help Mifflinburg celebrate its heritage each year.
The Christkindl started in 1989 after Austrian Rudi Skucek retired to his wife’s hometown in the late 1980s and conceived the idea to help the Main Street organization come up with an event to uplift people while celebrating their German heritage. Twenty huts were built to kick off that first Christkindl Market that was modeled on the 700-year-old European tradition.
Some years, nearly 100 vendors participate, and at the end of each market, the huts are carted back to a storage spot at the end of town with a few replaced each year, and others needing regular rehabbing.
This year’s visitors to Christkindl can expect to be delighted by Hilby as well as treated to entertainment by bands from all of the town’s schools from first grade through high school. A Shippensburg German Band will play traditional German music, while a dulcimer player, a local magician, and many other local and professional musicians will perform.
The market is always held beginning on the second Thursday in December through that Saturday. This year it will be held Dec. 12-14. For more information on the Mifflinburg Christkindl Market, visit the website at https://www.oldchristkindl.com
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Closer to home
Although Mifflinburg lies just 60 miles north of Harrisburg, many communities in the Harrisburg region also offer Christmas Markets. Following is a list of some of the local festivals:
Lower Paxton Christkindlmarkt – On Dec. 14, Linglestown hosts this outdoor German Christmas market featuring more than 110 vendors with handmade crafts, German and festival food, a live nativity scene, live music and dance, children’s activities, and more from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Go to https://lpchristkindlmarkt.com for more information.
Christmas at Fort Hunter in Harrisburg features multiple events over several weeks including Christmas at the Mansion, a toy train exhibit, a festival of trees, kids’ only holiday shop, and a craft reunion featuring handcrafted pottery, jewelry, metal sculpture, woodcraft, glass, fine art, photography, wood toys, soaps, ornaments, and more created by local artisans on Dec. 6-8. For more information, go to https://forthunter.org/christmas-at-fort-hunter/
Christmas at Italian Lake features a Christmas Market along with food trucks, a tree lighting, Santa’s grotto, and more. It will be held from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Dec. 14. For more details, see https://christmasitalianlake.com
Schaefferstown will hold a Christkindl Market on Dec. 13 from 4-8 p.m. featuring 20+ local artisans. For more information, go to https://visitlebanonvalley.com/tribeevent/christkindlmarkt-2/2024-12-13/
Those seeking lesser known Christmas events will find man smaller markets in Lancaster County at https://lancasteronline.com/features/entertainment/25-craft-shows-holiday-bazaars-in-lancaster-county/article_16f2b4de-8cae-11ef-bc64-97848aa59fcb.html
Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem at the SteelStacks runs every weekend through Dec. 22 with handmade gifts made by some of the nation’s finest artisans, strolling carolers, visits from St. Nick, German collectibles, food, and drinks. For more information, go to https://www.steelstacks.org/festivals/christkindlmarkt-bethlehem/
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Festive Philly
The Philadelphia Christmas Village surrounds City Hall and spreads into Love Park and operates every day through Dec. 24. Vendors include crafters, jewelry, local distilleries and wineries, and food stands featuring gingerbread, waffles, bratwurst, and mulled wine. It’s free and fun to wander around while in Philly for other Christmastime, cultural, and food events. Kiddie rides are also offered. Most days feature special events such as meeting Santa, tree lighting, storytimes, German dancing, Thirsty Thursday Spirits Tasting, and Wedding Wednesdays. For more information, go to https://www.philachristmas.com/index.html
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