Frohe Weihnachten
Frohe Weihnachten
2014 12th Anniversary 2025
HISTORY OF THE CHRISTKINDLMARKT
Nuremberg, Germany, is known for having the most traditional Christmas festival. This Christmas Market, on the City's main market square next to the famous fountain dates back to the mid-16th Century. It's first mention in writing is from 1628.
A list from 1737 shows that all Nuremberg craftsmen were represented at the market. The event wasn't held during WWII.
In 1948 the Christmas Market was re-established. Dressed in white and golden robes, with long blond hair and adorned with a crown, the Nuremberg Christ Child is a symbolic figure of the Christkindlmarkt, known throughout the world as one of Germany's oldest Christmas Markets. Every year on Friday before the first Sunday of Advent, the people of Nuremberg welcome the "Christkind" (Christ Child) , who officially opens the festivities by reciting a poem. The Christkind is a young woman (between the ages of 16 - 19 years old) who is elected by a jury for a two year period to be the city's official representative for all the festivities.
The Origin of
Belleville's Christkindlmarkt
In 2014, at the culmination of Belleville's year long celebration of its Bicentennial celebration, an authentic German Christmas Market was held in the Public Square.
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Modeled after the markets in Germany, and in particular the Nuremberg, Germany, Christkindlmarkt, shoppers were treated to vendors from across the world, authentic German food and drink, and entertainment.
Each year since then, the Belleville Christkindlmarkt is held on the Public Square and is officially opened by Belleville's own Christkind.
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Come and enjoy a little taste of Germany in Belleville, IL
Admission is FREE!
The Belleville Christkindlmarkt, an outdoor German Christmas Market on Belleville, Illinois' Public Square, is one of several sub-committees under the Belleville Cultural Enrichment Organization (BCEO), a corporation organized exclusively for charitable purposes within the meaning of Sec. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The mission of the BCEO is the beautification and enhancement of the cultural resources of Belleville, Illinois, through the creation, display, maintenance and restoration of memorials, monuments, museums, and for the promotion of social welfare. It is intended to create a charitable organization that will be exempt from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code Sec. 501(c)(3).
The purpose behind the Belleville Christkindlmarkt is to promote the rich German cultural resources of Belleville. All funds raised at the Belleville Christkindlmarkt are used to pay for the expenses and operations of the Belleville Christkindlmarkt. Other BCEO sub-committees operate to maintain and restore memorials, monuments, museums, and promote social welfare in Belleville.