Colorful stalls are being set up in the old towns: In Hanover and Bremen, the traditional Christmas markets are to begin next Monday (November 22nd). Last year, winter fun with candles, handicrafts, delicacies and mulled wine fell victim to the corona pandemic. There are restrictions on where the markets take place this year. In some places in the north, the virus forces a second cancellation: Goslar in the Harz region stopped preparations and canceled its Christmas market on Thursday.
In the state capital Hanover, Lord Mayor Belit Onay (Greens) is to open the Christmas market under the motto “Let’s be happy and outside”. The organizers are betting that the market will be a nice experience. “Despite corona-related changes, there will again be a wide variety of offers for visiting the Christmas market,” said the deputy head of the economic department, Lars Baumann, on Thursday.
There will be an 18 meter high Christmas tree, a Finnish and a historical village with jugglers. There will only be 165 stands, not nearly 200 as in 2019 before Corona. The organizers also make a stronger distinction between strolling areas, in which everyone can stroll, and lingering areas with food or drinks: A 2G rule applies there, vaccinated or convalescent people must prove their status and receive a wristband as evidence. The Christmas market is supposed to close at 8 p.m. Half an hour beforehand, a night watchman will ring in the evening.
In Bremen, the Christmas market was planned with almost no restrictions, trusting the high vaccination rate, but the Senate pulled the emergency brake on Wednesday evening. “The development of the pandemic as a whole makes further conditions necessary for the implementation of the Christmas market and the battle magic,” said Economics Senator Kristina Vogt (Left Party).
It is compulsory to wear a mask, and at some locations wristbands are issued for those who have been vaccinated, those who have recovered and those who have been tested (3G). Only with them may rides and mulled wine be drunk. As in Hanover, there are fewer stalls around the town hall in Bremen’s city center than usual and they are spread over a larger area.
There are also rules in other cities in the region. If a higher warning level is reached, visitors to the Christmas market in Bremerhaven should be checked and given a festival wristband. Everyone can stroll around the Lambertimarkt in Oldenburg, but 3G applies to rides and bars.
For the Engelkemarkt in Emden, the city tightened the rules on Thursday. Instead of 3G, 2G should now apply on an enclosed site. This offers the visitors “again a significantly increased security”, said Lord Mayor Tim Kruithoff (non-party).
In Cloppenburg, the organizers canceled the Christmas market entirely because they did not feel that the official requirements could be met. There was also regret in Goslar. “With the decision, which was incredibly difficult for us, we are also responding to the concerns of the players in the Christmas market,” said Marina Vetter, Managing Director of Goslar Marketing GmbH.
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