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The Christmas' spirit: Reims Christmas Market
- Luiz Bernardes
- Dec 23, 2024
- 3 min read
Christmas in Europe is much more than a simple festival - it is a sensorial experience that transcends generations, uniting tradition, culture and community spirit. Christmas markets are the beating heart of this celebration, transforming entire cities into true Christmas fairy tales.
Among the best known we can mention the "Weihnachtsmärkte" of Dresden, Cologne and Trier in Germany, Vienna, Austria and Basel (Basel) in Switzerland in addition to the “Marché de Nöel” of Metz, Strassbourg, France. What few may know is that there is another as beautiful and traditional as all of these.
In the charming city of Reims, capital of Champagne, the Christmas market takes on a special meaning when established close to the majestic Notre-Dame de Reims Cathedral. This Gothic cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is not just an architectural monument, but a symbol of resilience and hope – values that resonate deeply with the Christmas spirit.
Notre-Dame of Reims Cathedral, where 27 French kings were crowned, serves as a sublime backdrop (and what a backdrop!) for the Christmas market. Its illuminated Gothic towers create a magical contrast with the colorful stalls, where locals sell traditional crafts, mulled wines (vin chaud, typical decorations of the region and local gastronomic specialties, including Champagne (of course) and the famous and highly approved Remois sandwich, which was the great feeling of a trip we took to the region with friends in November 2019.
But don't ask us the recipe, so far we haven't discovered what it's made of or how. We just take our friend Nilson's word that this delicacy is among the best meals he's ever had in his life.
"[…] I have always thought of Christmas, when it arrives – beyond the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything can be beyond that – as a good time: a time of delicacy, of forgiveness, of charity and joy: the only time in the calendar, as far as I know, in the whole year, when men and women seem, with unanimous consent, to freely open their hearts and think of people of more modest condition as if they were companions trip to the grave, not another race of creatures that follow other paths.”" - Fred Scrooge, character from A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens.
Just like Dickens's "Christmas Carol," European markets represent a journey of transformation. Every stall, every light, every smile invites visitors to leave everyday pragmatism behind and embrace generosity and human connection.
The Reims market also has another component: the cathedral, specially decorated for Christmas, brings us a connection with the divine combined with human traditions, with its traditional architecture of wooden huts that hark back to centuries of history.
Christmas markets, especially the one in Reims, are not just commercial events. These are rituals of communion, where history meets celebration, and where each visitor can experience a small dose of magic and renewal.
This year 2024, the event started on November 27th and will run until December 29th.
The true spirit of Christmas lies not in the gifts or the decorations, but in the ability to reconnect with our humanity, our history and our capacity for generosity - just as European Christmas markets invite us to do every year.
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