“Today’s world needs magic”: how the Christmas market has established itself throughout France

Everywhere in France, Christmas markets open their doors at the end of the year. A tradition from the East of France, and in particular from Alsace, these markets are now located in the four corners of France. They obviously bring in a lot in brand image and commercial impact. For those who frequent them, they are also and above all essential places of wonder in the heart of the gray of winter.

“Participate in a collective party”

“Time to marvel“, this is the theme chosen this year for the Strasbourg Christmas marketthe oldest in Alsace since it dates from 1570. The 2024 edition opened with great fanfare on Wednesday November 27. Like last year, we expect more than 3 million visitors around the 300 chalets there.

Traditionally, we found in these markets handicraft objects to decorate the tree or to make gifts, and some sweets and candies, such as apples or nuts and of course fir trees. Today, food, mulled wine and far fewer local and artisanal products than what the organizers claim.

What is indisputable is the increasingly massive attendance at these markets. For Gérard Leser, Alsatian folklorist historian, what we come to look for is the magic of Christmas. “I believe that today's world needs dreams, magic, wonder, to participate in something that is sacred, even if it no longer really has a strong religious connotation, (…) and above all to participate in a collective celebration.

The turning point launched by the village of Kaysersberg

If Christmas markets are a true tradition anchored in Alsace, their success and development are not due to chance. These are the traders of the village of Kaysersbergone of the most famous markets in Alsace, which, at the end of the 1980s, launched this movement. At the time, they made the decision to create a Christmas market around the Kaysersberg church, like what is done among their German neighbors, and above all to communicate about the event.

Gérard Leser, recalls the immediate success of the operation : “It started in 1987 and it was a huge success very quickly, it attracted people and there were crowds of people who went to visit this pretty Christmas market in Kaysersberg which was only open on weekends (…) Then, there were national and international campaigns and this is what suddenly gave birth to this extraordinary flowering of Christmas markets throughout Alsace, from Wissembourg to Altkirch.”

“You come from the land of Christmas markets”

At the end of the 90s, Strasbourg followed suit, communicating on “Strasbourg, capital of Christmas”then the regional tourism committee will expand the concept to Alsace, transforming the region into “Christmas land” in the eyes of the whole world.

Alsace, the land of Christmas, the concept spread to France, then internationally to such an extent that in 2015, Gérard Leser, passing through Canada, noticed that the image had crossed the Atlantic. “I was invited to a storytelling festival in Montreal in 2015. And then when we saw that I came from Alsace, someone said 'Ah yes, you come from the land of Christmas markets'”.

A commercial success that pays off

Beyond the traditions they convey, these markets bring image, tourism and significant economic benefits. In Alsace, the figures are dizzying with more than 3 million visitors to Strasbourg, 1.7 million to Colmar. So much so that we are close to implosion in December in the municipalities, due to overtourism. This year, the city of Strasbourg has also toughened the rules to try to get everyone to live together in the narrow streets of the city center.

In Provence, also, Christmas markets are a tradition, a little different from that of the North-East of France. But, little by little, each city in France built its own market: in 1989 on the Grand Place in Lille, in 1991 in Nice and Rennes, in 1992 in Paris with a first market on the Champs Élysées, in 1996 in Marseille, in 1998 in Metz, and in 1999 in Bordeaux, Christmas, throughout France, is a flourishing season for commerce and Christmas markets contribute to this. December represents more than 20% of sales, everywhere in France for commerceaccording to INSEE data (2019 study). During the closing of the Colmar market, in Alsace, in December 2023, the mayor spoke of the fallout from more than 100 million euros for the city. At a Christmas market like that of Nantes, a trader confided in December 2023 to France Bleu Loire Océan that he was carrying out 70% of its turnover.