‘There is still a touch of Germany’
As Christkindlmarket grows, German vendors keep spirit of traditions alive
Chicago’s Christkindlmarket has been a staple of the city’s holiday season since it opened in 1996. The smells of sweet roasting nuts, savory bratwursts and decadent, bubbling cheese compete for visitors’ attention. Bells clang as vendors in wooden huts call out food orders and sell gifts.
As the market has grown, many vendors have returned annually for decades — some even since it first opened. But for some vendors who have watched the market expand and evolve, they have also seen some beloved elements of the market change or disappear. To them, they are the ones tasked with sustaining the German tradition of Christmas markets.
Time-lapse video of crowds at the Christkindlmarket. (Katherine Dailey / Medill News Service)
Time-lapse video of crowds at the Christkindlmarket. (Katherine Dailey / Medill News Service)
Welcome to the Christkindlmarket — take a look around!
The main entrance of the Daley Plaza Christkindlmarket. (Katherine Dailey / Medill News Service)
The main entrance of the Daley Plaza Christkindlmarket. (Katherine Dailey / Medill News Service)
Tom Pilk’s father Hardy traveled from Germany to sell food at the very first Chicago Christkindlmarket, and Pilk still works at the German Grill food stand. Having worked the market for 15 years himself, he recognizes many of the other vendors.
“It’s like a family in here.”
Sweet nuts spinning at the Christkindlmarket. (Maggie Dougherty / Medill News Service)
Sweet nuts spinning at the Christkindlmarket. (Maggie Dougherty / Medill News Service)
“My dad started almost 30 years ago, and he started with guys like the Schnitzel guys,” Pilk said, gesturing in the direction of the stand in question. “He started with the guys who are doing the ornaments. He started with Käthe Wohlfahrt. He started with the nuts guys over there.”
What's changed at the Christkindlmarket?
Evolution and growth over the years
In 2015, the city of Chicago made the decision to move its main Christmas tree from Daley Plaza, where the Christkindlmarket has been held since 1997, to Millennium Park. The Chicago Tribune reported at the time that the decision was made to move the tree closer to other holiday traditions such as ice skating in Maggie Daley Park and caroling at the Bean.
Antje Staedler, who has sold hand-painted glass ornaments at Glaszauber Lauscha in the market for decades, said that it was a loss to the market to no longer have the tree in Daley Plaza.
“Years before, in the starting we had a Christmas tree here on the market. Now the Christmas tree moved to the Millennium Park,” she said. “But Millennium Park is not too far away.”
For Pilk, the tree made Chicago’s market more reminiscent of the markets back in Germany. The tree is not the only change that he’s seen.
“We had a house where kids could go to with Santa Claus in it, and they could sit down there and tell about their wishes,” he said. “Now it’s basically just vendors, vendors, vendors, vendors, and we squeeze them all together.”
Bringing Germany to America
How German vendors share their traditional culture in America — and how they get here themselves
While the market as a whole has changed, Pilk noted that the vendors themselves maintain the German culture that started the market.
“You’ve got German vendors in here, people who are coming still from Germany and doing it. So there is still a touch of Germany or Europe in here,” he said. “If you just let it run, maybe by Americans, you’re gonna lose the tradition, because it’s a tradition of Europe.”
Pia Schulenberg sells traditional German-style decorations at Gift & Candle Palace, where her family’s business brings German holiday traditions to Chicago.
“The paper stars during Christmas, we hang them in our window, so we have the light inside as a decoration, but we would also see it from the outside,” she said. “When you’re walking through the streets in Germany, you would see all the stars in the windows, so it brings a lot of light to the dark season. The candles next door, they’re also the same idea. A lot of colors, a lot of light.”
“It brings a lot of light to the dark season.”
Candles are often displayed in windows in the winter in Germany, and similar candles are sold at the Christkindlmarket. (Maggie Dougherty / Medill News Service)
Candles are often displayed in windows in the winter in Germany, and similar candles are sold at the Christkindlmarket. (Maggie Dougherty / Medill News Service)
There is an enduring community among the vendors, many of whom travel back and forth from Germany each year.
“One of the vendors here, it’s Frank’s Ornament House on the other side, that’s also from Lauscha. That’s a neighbor back home,” Staedler said. “Of the vendors here, most of them are from Germany.”
Despite changes to the market, vendors remain excited to share their traditions in America.
“It’s such a well known event already in Chicago,” Schulenberg said. “Everybody comes and so many people are telling me, ‘Hey, I’m coming back every year.’ It’s such a tradition.”
Timeline of Vendors
Scroll through this timeline to explore when certain longtime vendors have been present at the Christkindlmarket in downtown Chicago!
This timeline includes vendors who were a part of the Christkindlmarket for at least 10 years,
and who have been a part of the market after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Christkindlmarket Website • Note: No data available for 1998, 1999, or 2006 markets.
Historical data sourced using Internet Archive's Wayback Machine
2000
2001
2002
2003
2005
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2022
2024
Quiz yourself to learn more!
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About the Authors
Katherine Dailey
Katie Dailey is an investigative reporter and a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She has covered affordable and public housing, the LGBTQ+ community, press freedom, and campaigns for outlets including POLITICO, Washington City Paper, and the International Press Institute. She is a native of New Jersey and a graduate of Princeton University.
Maggie Dougherty
Maggie Dougherty is an investigative reporter with Medill News Service. Maggie is a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism specializing in investigative journalism. She began her professional life as an antitrust data analyst at an economic consulting firm before pivoting back to journalism. Maggie grew up in Charlottesville, Va., but has lived in Chicago since 2021 after graduating from The College of Wooster.
