Christmas time in Strasbourg is simultaneously joyful yet depressing, entertaining yet boring, festive yet pudrid, and beautiful yet tacky. The weather, for starters, is less than ideal; after all, in the winter time (especially around the xmas season for some reason) it is rainy, gray and cold with bitter winds. Sunshine is rarely to be seen, and blue skies are non-existent.
Despite the lack of snow, the back streets of the outdoor Christmas markets fill up with crowds of people on the hunt for traditional "relics" of Alsace, thus making the intricate cobblestone pathways obsolete.
From the end of November to Christmas day, both during day and evening hours, people walk around aimlessly and without a clue, shuffling their feet, jaws wide open as they find their ways to one of the 8 Christmas craft-markets, snapping pictures, listening to the various street performers (my favorite, the accordian-players and the sax players!) while hunting down one stuffed stork after another, chowing down tarte flambee, sausage or crepes.
Garlands, Stars, Storks, Blinking lights and Cathedral showcases are emblematic of Strasbourg at this time of year, and there is no shortage of beauty - especially before the grand Cathedral itself, and at night, the Christmas lights fill every dark space in the city; there is not an alley-way devoid Christmas decor! So that everywhere you go, you are bound to find a beautiful Christmas GLOW, as in a DREAM, (especially amidst the dreary, fog-filled evenings and puddle-filled night stolls!)
Where you do not find talented young artists, you may hear french and american christmas carols nevertheless, blaring across the stone walls of the ancient squares and public places, along with the hum of random foreign chatter in German, Italian or English and the occasional Cathedral bell chiming...ahh...Cathedral bells are lovely.
Stands for "vin chaud," (hot red wine), pretzels and crepes line the streets, making for a real international affair, and all the while, dead-stop pedestrian TRAFFIC!
I see the lights, the decor and yet I find it difficult to get into my New England "cozy Christmas coma," a time of year dedicated to heavy eating, drinking and complaining about the weather. Perhaps due to the lack of SNOW, or more likely due to the lack of close friends and family, Christmas in Strasbourg is a depressing place to be, full of false SYMBOLs of Christams - and yet empty of true Christmas SPIRIT...a tourist attraction...a place to visit, yet not to live.
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