Christmas in Alsace

The Alsatian nativity scene

It has more in common with the German style (see the Germany & Austria page) than with the Provençal one, with a few features of its own:

• Local buildings in the scenery. Half-timbered houses, upper floors that jut out, steep roofs, sometimes a stork’s nest. Provence sets the Nativity in a Mediterranean village. Alsace sets it in an Alsatian one.
• Mostly wood, for both the figures and the buildings.
• Smaller scenes. You won’t see many big Provençal-style villages. The focus stays on the Holy Family and the shepherds.
• Lots of church nativities, many of them old. Several towns have walking routes to visit them, like the German Krippenweg (“nativity trail”).

To build one in this style, see our guides to roofs, village houses and snow.

The Christmas tree, before anyone else

Alsace has some of the earliest records of the Christmas tree anywhere. A 1521 account book in the town of Sélestat lists money paid to guard trees cut for Christmas. It’s one of the oldest written references to the custom.

The first trees were decorated with apples, communion wafers and cakes. Glass ornaments came much later. Because the tree took root here so early, Alsatian homes still give the tree and the nativity equal place, while in the South of France the nativity comes first.

The Christmas markets

Strasbourg’s Christkindelsmärik (the “Christ Child market”) has been held since 1570, making it one of the oldest Christmas markets still running in Europe. It belongs to the same German-speaking tradition that later inspired the Christkindlmarkets of Chicago and other American cities.

For nativity lovers, these markets are what santon fairs are in Provence: the place to find figures, supplies and the artisans who make them. The markets in Colmar, Kaysersberg, Riquewihr and many villages each have their own feel.

Christkindel and Hans Trapp

These two aren’t part of the nativity scene, but they’re a big part of Christmas in Alsace. And they’re not just local versions of Santa Claus.

• The Christkindel: literally “the Christ Child,” played by a young woman veiled in white, crowned, carrying a little bell and a basket of treats. She brings the presents and asks children how they’ve behaved.
• Hans Trapp: her counterpart, a dark figure dressed in animal skins, armed with a switch, who accompanies the Christkindel and deals with children who’ve misbehaved. A role similar to that of Père Fouettard, or of Krampus in the Alps.

Depending on the town, they make their rounds on Saint Nicholas Day (December 6) or closer to Christmas. Several villages still keep the tradition, with home visits or parades.

The table

Alsace doesn’t have Provence’s thirteen desserts, but it has its own Christmas treats:

• Bredele: small Christmas cookies, baked in large batches from late November and made in dozens of varieties: cinnamon, anise, almond, shortbread cut with cookie cutters. Baking them is a family activity in itself.
• Gingerbread, as cakes and as cut-out figures.
• Kougelhopf, eaten well beyond Christmas but associated with the holidays.
• Mulled wine, inseparable from the markets.

The calendar

• Late November: the markets open and bredele baking begins.
• December 4: on Saint Barbara’s Day, some families put cherry branches in water, hoping they’ll bloom by Christmas. It’s a lot like the Provençal custom of sprouting wheat: in both, new growth in midwinter is a sign of good things to come.
• December 6: Saint Nicholas Day, a big day for children, with the Mannele, a sweet bread shaped like a little man.
• December 24: Baby Jesus is placed in the nativity scene. In some families, the Christkindel comes by.
• January 6: Epiphany.