The Christmas Market in Old Town Stockholm
Written by Marcus Cederstrom
The Swedish winter is here, which means that in Stockholm, the sun is going down around 3 in the afternoon. It makes for very short days.
Swedes though, know how to combat the darkness, Christmas lights line the streets and candles shine in windows throughout town. It makes for a beautiful stroll through Stockholm. One of the best places to end up during your stroll is the Christmas market in Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s Old Town.
Open from November 21st through December 23rd, the market is located in Stortorget a small square near the Royal Castle and Storkyrkan. Wandering around the Christmas market is completely free, although buying any of the homemade crafts and other traditional Swedish Christmas gifts is far from free.
While the gifts might be expensive, the glögg and pepparkakor are not. Glögg and pepparkakor are a Christmas tradition in Sweden; glögg is a type of spiced wine and pepparkakor are gingerbread cookies. A cup of glögg is well worth buying as you enjoy the Swedish winter.
Be warned, the Christmas market in Gamla Stan will be packed with people. Expect to be jostled around a little bit, but once you grab your glögg, escape to the steps of the Nobel Museum. You’ll get out of the crowd and be able to look out over the market while you enjoy the Swedish Christmas spirit.
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Hmm…well, glögg is originated in Norway. That’s what my swedish parents tells me.
I actually think most sources credit continental Europe (and by continental Europe I mean what is now Germany) with introducing it to the Nordic countries. Although at this point each country might have a special twist that makes it their own.