Robert La Bua tours the historic Christmas markets of Europe

Since my most common expression of religious commitment these days takes place standing in front of the freezer staring at ice cream containers, I am surprised by the level of sentiment that swells up in me during the Christmas season. I find fruitcakes and sugarplum fairies usurping mango-surf lifesaver ice cream in December daydreams, and nowhere is the Christmas season as sentimentally celebrated as in the traditional Christmas markets of Northern and Central Europe, which just happen to be among the gay-friendliest destinations in the world.

Christmas markets in Europe have existed for hundreds of years and have undergone little change in their presentation.  Sure, now there are plastic Santas dancing Christmas hulas, plastic bûches de Noël, and other such modern (plastic) bric-a-brac, but the old-fashioned cakes, cookies, candles, and handicrafts still hold pride of place in the markets where people may partake of a pine-scented trip back to a simpler time when holidays meant more than gift-buying stress and crowded airports.

In a typical paradox of attitudes, the free-spirited, forward-thinking northern Europeans spawn the most elaborately traditional Christmas celebrations.  That these countries are also among the randiest is all the more reason to get there and do some unwrapping.  The Scandinavian capitals of Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm jump into the Christmas spirit with a fervour usually reserved for sunbathing nude and singing schlager at the pub.

Lights and candles are everywhere.  Candles play a far more important role in Scandinavia than mere decorations.  In the depths of the long, dark winter, light is an important psychological boost to the spirit, reminding people that daylight will come again eventually.  The buzzword is ‘cosy’, and it’s never been more appropriate than in a Scandinavian home in winter when you wake up in a cosy bed, wherever it may be, under a goosedown dune (yes, this is where the word ‘doona’ comes from), omnipresent candles from the night before glowing around you in the still-dark morning.  

The deeper feeling for Christmas became very clear while strolling around the traditional Christmas market at Drottningholm Palace, the residence of the Swedish royal family, which includes the unreasonably handsome Prince Carl Philip.  Boughs of pine trimming the exhibitors’ booths, the aroma and taste of glögg, a spiced red wine served piping hot, seeps into you, and the edge of northern light striving to make a day of it in the cold all make for an experience quite unlike any other.  

In Denmark, the Christmas market in Odense, native city of Hans Christian Andersen, is especially atmospheric, with people dressed as characters from his tales taking you as far back as the Old World architecture does.  If you’re thinking Snow White at Disney World, you’re far off the mark; it’s all done with authentic European class, not crass.  Copenhagen has the trump card of Tivoli, its beloved amusement park, illuminating December nights with thousands upon thousands of blazing coloured lights.  

Scandinavia is not the only place in Europe to have these wonderful markets.  Germany, Austria, and Switzerland also maintain their traditions.  Zürich, especially elegant in its decoration, leaves me agasp at the pride taken in the elaboration of painstakingly erected ornate displays.  It is in Zürich’s main train station that a vast space crisscrossed by commuters is given over to rows of Christmas vendor booths; the market here is also home to an enormous Christmas tree glistening with Swarovski crystal ornaments.

Leave Zürich’s station down the eponymously named Bahnhofstrasse and you will see an endless display of miniature white lights suspended vertically, the vines of a winter snow-forest brightening the way for affluent shoppers looking for the latest additions to their watch, jewellery, or scarf collections.  If the shopping or yearning gets to be too overwhelming, stop for a coffee, tea, or hot chocolate in one of the garland-bedecked cafés.  For the zenith of Christmas décor in Zürich, don’t miss Café Schober at Napfgasse 4 to see the pride taken by its owners in creating a most gemütlig environment for their customers.

For more information about the Christmas markets, visit Scandinavian Tourist Board’s website at http://www.visitscandinavia.com.au/Home.aspx and Scandinavian Airlines’ gay-specific homepage at www.flysas.com/gay.  
For more information on the future men in your life, go to www.stockholmtown.com/gay and www.visitcopenhagen.com/gay and see what you find.

photos:  John Douglas, JohnDouglasArt.com