And On the First Day of Christmas...

... a crooked tree was lit.

Strasbourg is often nicknamed the "Capital of Christmas," and for good reason: as I've mentioned before, the whole city is strung with lights, and over the past few weeks, I've watched as my adopted city has become even more a place out of the fairytales.


Decorating the city streets

One of the largest Christmas trees in Europe (if not the world) was set up in Place Kleber a few weeks ago. Typically, this tree generally ranges from 27-32 meters (plus or minus 100 feet). I want to say that it originates from Russia or the Black Forest or somewhere, but I have no basis for those statements. Wherever this Christmas tree is from, though, it must be far away: when the tree first arrived in Strasbourg and was unleashed from its netting, it had lost about 80% of its branches during transport and was looking quite pathetic. Luckily, they have this problem every year, and the smart people of Strasbourg have come up with a solution: they glue spare branches back onto the tree! The thought still makes me laugh.
 

The tree, getting lights and branches added

Also, this year's tree is terribly crooked, which just makes me laugh harder. I can't believe the workers didn't notice how it is leaning. Hopefully the tree doesn't come crashing to the ground anytime soon!

Anyway, Strasbourg is also known for having some of the oldest Christmas Markets (Marchés de Noel) in Europe. All over the city, little wooden huts have popped up, charmingly decorated and selling all sorts of good things: specialty chocolates, Alsatian pottery, Christmas ornaments, wreaths, jewelry, and beautiful artisan crafts. The edibles include mostly vin chaud (hot spiced wine), crêpes, gaufres (waffles topped with nutella), baguettes topped with cheese and ham, bretzels, candied apples, and hot chocolate.

And what was Black Friday in the U.S. was actually the first day of all these Christmas Markets--the beginning of Strasbourg's long-awaited holiday season!

My friends and I actually went to see The Hunger Games: Catching Fire at the cinema on Friday afternoon (it was so good!!! And  for some reason, I really enjoyed analyzing how well the French subtitles translated the English dialogue). After the movie, I had dinner with my host family, then headed back into the city for the Christmas Tree lighting.

Arriving at a quarter to 8 p.m. in Place Kleber, I couldn't find my friends (it turns out they had left to grab dinner) but I watched in slightly horrified amazement as these huge figures on stilts inflated themselves to become four giant, puffy snowmen. These snowmen guys danced happily through the crowded square towards the towering Christmas tree, and as the music turned to its crescendo, the tree was illuminated for the first time. All around me, people were gasping and clapping and snapping pictures. Holiday music was still playing, and it was such a wonderful moment. 

Eventually, I found my friends, and we wandered through the Christmas Markets in Place Broglie, delighting in all the sweets (I WANT THEM ALL) and the beautiful crafts for sale. Each of us gave in and bought a treat: a candied apple each for Arianna and Alex, some vin chaud for Jacqueline, a gauffre and a hot chocolate for Melissa, and a crêpe for me. 

It was such a magical feeling to be at the Christmas markets, walking through a city all strung with lights and baubles, the frosty night air filled with spiced wine and hot chocolate and holiday music. I will never get tired of this. Strasbourg is simply magical.