[ad_1]
From late November until Christmas Day, all twelve blocks of Sapporo’s Odori Park transform into a European-style Christmas market. It features twinkling lights, cozy shops, and tasty winter treats for sale. This annual market kicks off an entire season of holiday and winter-themed events in Hokkaido. The season concludes with the world-famous Yuki Matsuri (Snow Festival) held in February.
In 2022, the Christmas Market will feature over 40 stalls selling a mix of Japanese and European Christmas-themed goods. Items for sale include dishware, ornaments, toys, and sweets. The event’s best-known offering is its hot mulled wine, a traditional German recipe.
This year’s version of the market is the biggest ever, as the event is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The 2022 Christmas Market began on November 22 and will continue through December 25th, Christmas Day. [1]
A Celebration of a Sister City Relationship
The first Christmas Market was held in 2002. It celebrated the 30th anniversary of Sapporo’s sister city relationship with Munich, Germany. Sapporo is active in the Sister City Exchange Program and currently has five sister cities. The other four are Portland, Oregon, Shenyang, China, Daejeon, South Korea, and Novosibirsk, Russia.
Munich is the second-oldest of these sister-city relationships. The two became sister cities in 1972. That year, the Olympic Committee chose Munich to host the Summer Olympic Games and Sapporo for the Winter Olympic Games. Over the years, Sapporo built a Maibaum (May Tree sculpture), European-style suspension bridge, and Bavarian garden to celebrate the cities’ bond. [2]
The Christmas Market traditionally sells a number of German delicacies and goods to represent Sapporo’s relationship with Munich. Hungry visitors can snack on large soft pretzels, sausages, sauerkraut, and other German-inspired treats. Handicrafts stalls sell blown glass, carved wood and metal trinkets done in a German style. These goods showcase scenes and symbols representing both Munich and Sapporo.
A Festive, Sustainable Drink
The spiced wine is the market’s most famous offering. It’s inspired by the traditional German “Gluehwein,” or “glowing wine,” drunk at Christmastime. This drink contains red wine, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, oranges, and sometimes raisins.
Every year, local artists design a new commemorative mug to represent that year’s Christmas Market. Visitors who purchase one of these commemorative mugs can refill it with spiced wine throughout the event at a discounted price. Hot chocolate refills for non-drinkers are also available.
In the late 2010s, Munich introduced a sustainability initiative involving the use of reusable tableware at city-sponsored outdoor events. The city banned disposable plates, forks, and cups at these events. It replaced these with sturdier, reusable alternatives that visitors could return to dishwashing stands when they’d had finished eating.
Sapporo drew inspiration from its sister city’s efforts and introduced reusable dishware at its Christmas Market as well. Instead of purchasing paper plates and cups, visitors put down a deposit (typically between 100 and 500 yen) to rent reusable dishware. Visitors get their deposit back when they turn in their plates and cups at one of the dishwashing stalls located throughout the market.[3]
Just The Beginning of the Festive Season
With snow blanketing Hokkaido for over half the year, it’s no wonder that the prefecture’s residents prefer to spend the winter months celebrating. The Christmas Market is typically Sapporo’s first major winter event each season, but it is far from the last.
Partway through the month of December, Odori Park also becomes host to the Sapporo White Illumination. Trees, bridges, walkways, and even the iconic Sapporo TV Tower itself are wrapped in scores of glittering white lights to illuminate the night and create a festive, romantic atmosphere. In 2022, because of the Christmas Market anniversary celebration, the White Illumination began on November 22 and will last the entirety of the Market’s runtime.
Although the Christmas Market closes its doors on Christmas Day, preparation for February’s Snow Festival in Odori Park begins almost immediately afterward. The Snow Festival typically features up to 400 snow sculptures ranging from enormous professionally crafted edifices to smaller offerings made by local schools, clubs, and interest groups.
After several years of virtual-only events due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Sapporo has announced that it hopes to once again host a physical Snow Festival in 2023. [4] Until then, visitors to Sapporo can start the holiday season off right by giving the 30th annual Christmas Market a visit.
What to read next
How Japan Made Christmas Mandarins a Canadian Tradition
Sources
[1] Sapporo Travel. “札幌・ミュンヘン姉妹都市提携50周年記念第42回さっぽろホワイトイルミネーション” Link.
[2] City of Sapporo. “ミュンヘン” Link.
[3] Interreg Europe. “Events on public ground in Munich: Prohibition on single-use items for provision of food and drinks.” 8 April 2021. Link.
[4] Sapporo Snow Festival Official Web site. Link.
Want more great Japan content? We rely on support from our readers. Become a member starting at just USD $3/month today to get exclusive content, social media shout-outs, and more!
[ad_2]
Source link