We think even Scrooge would delight in the Frankfurt Christmas Market, or Christkindchesmarket (gesundheit!), a tradition that’s been traced back to 1393. Here you can shop for goods from artisans, binge on marzipan candies, and sip a warm cup of mulled wine. Locals can even shop for Christmas trees, a tradition that is said to have originated in this part of the world. The modern Christmas tree tradition as we know it started in the 15th and 16th centuries in northern Germany and Livonia (present-day Estonia and Latvia). It’s believed the Protestant reformer Martin Luther was the first to add lighted candles to an evergreen. Sidenote: That had to be a fire hazard, right?
A Christmas market with a long history
Today in History
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Happy trees = Clean air
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Great Fountain Geyser, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
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World Environment Day
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Digging the birds
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Boxing Day—a shopper’s delight
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Celebrating Flag Day
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When an ideal microclimate gives you lemons…
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Black History Month
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The Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland
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Life carries on, rising from a ship s skeleton
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Porto Cathedral, Portugal
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’Chess on ice’
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Flocking together in the Antarctic
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Honoring some real heroes of World War II
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Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia
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Pantaleu
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Jeju Island, South Korea
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And you thought moths were boring
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Detroit Industry Murals by Diego Rivera
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Easter
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Canadian Thanksgiving
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Preservation Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana
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Sea Otter Awareness Week
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A good time in the Badlands
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The circular castle of Cornwall
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Nha Phu Bay, Nha Trang, Vietnam