For many people, the holiday season means shopping. And while Christmas Markets can trace their roots to Vienna, Austria in 1296, when Duke Albrecht I authorized 14-day long fairs each December, the markets as they exist in America today are a recent invention. Regardless, Pennsylvania hosts several spectacular Christmas markets.
Tinseltown Holiday Spectacular
The Tinseltown Holiday Spectacular in Philadelphia not only has a Christmas market, but it also allows visitors to participate in winter-themed outdoor activities. It runs to December 31, but it is closed on Christmas Day. The venue includes the Ice Trail for ice skating on a path of Christmas light displays. Tickets for the Ice Trail cost 20 dollars for adults and 15 dollars for children. Alternatively, people can choose to pay ten dollars for three rides on a 160 foot long ice tubing slide, or they can get photos taken with Santa. The Mistletoe Marketplace hosts vendors selling art, trinkets and food. A few of these vendors include Piggyback Treats, Chocolate Moonshine, and K&S Knits.
Philadelphia Christmas Village at Love Park
Another Philadelphia holiday attraction is the Philadelphia Christmas Village in Center City, running from November 18 to December 24. Located near Love Park on 1500 Arch Street, the market takes inspiration from German Christmas villages. While shopping for gifts, people can eat from a selection of traditional German holiday food, such as gingerbread, bratwurst, waffles, strudel, and schnitzel. Certain vendors like TBJ Gourmet also sell delicacies like bacon jams. The village also features gift vendors like Käthe Wohlfahrt, a top German Christmas decoration company that makes nutcrackers, pyramids, music boxes and ornaments, Andrey’s Gifts from Afar which sells Ukrainian crafts like wooden santas and candle houses, and Felt n Wool which features handmade Nepali hats. People can also shop for gifts for their pets from Black Sheep Dog Treats.
Peoples Gas Holiday Market
November 17 to December 24 The market hosts multiple vendors. Certain vendors sell food like Cinnaroast, selling cinnamon nuts and confections in tin box packaging, and the Pittsburgh Irish Festival Celtic Gift Shoppe which also has Irish gifts like clothing and glassware in addition to coffee, tea and scones. Many vendors also showcase international gifts, with European vendors like Euro Haus which creates European scarves, kitchen tiles, and glassware, European Folk Art which sells Polish and other Eastern European art, painted ornaments, pottery, and magnets. Asian gifts are also available from Himala Home, selling Nepali wool products like sweaters, scarves and bags, and Pop Up in Pittsburgh which makes handmade popup cards, souvenirs from Vietnam.
Christmas City at Bethlehem
The Christmas City and Christkindlmarkt at Bethlehem is located at PNC Plaza at SteelStacks. In 2023, it ran from November 17 to December 17. However, it is accepting applications for 2024 vendors. Attendees could have breakfast with St. Nick, and they could visit a silk exhibition as well. However, the Christmas tree exhibition in Trees to Historic Bethlehem is still open to the public until January 7 2024.
Mifflinburg Christkindlmarkt
The Mifflinburg Christmas Market opens on the second Thursday of December of each year, and in 2023, it ran from December 14-16. Although the market does not sell tickets online, donations can be made at the market entrance. As the oldest outdoor Christmas market in the United States, shoppers can enjoy a Marionette Show as well as a St. Nicholas’ procession led by the MAHS Renaissance Bande. The market included a ham and green bean dinner and a juggling demonstration in addition to the vendors.
Harmony Museum Weihnachtsmarkt
The Harmony Museum Christmas market was hosted from November 11-12 in 2023, containing over 50 artisans and specialty vendors. It featured many German-style foods and refreshments which included bratwurst sandwiches, potato salad, “gluhwein” or mulled wine, and sauerkraut soups. Marketgoers could also visit quilters or ride on horse-drawn wagons.
