Day 25
Merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachten! Christmas Day is here!
Enjoy the full performance of the Grand Philharmonic Choir singing Hallelujah in the video above.
Thank you to everyone who visited our 25-Day Advent Calendar. Let us know if you have enjoyed visiting us each day. We look forward to seeing you next year! (Don't miss any news, subscribe to our email updates in the footer, you can unsubscribe at any time.)
Skit with Knecht Ruprecht & Christkindl
Listen to the skit & prologue performed during our Opening Ceremonies, between Knecht Ruprecht and Christkindl, recorded in 2019. (click >PLAY below).
We have provided their scripts so that you can read along with them - in English and German. Grab a mug of Gluhwein. Enjoy the stories and activities on this page including
today's German saying and today's Nutcracker. Visit our Christkindl Marketplace of artisans and shops.
Christkindl's Opening Prologue
Peace to the world!
Peace be with you all!
Listen to what Christkindl has to tell you!
Every year, when the days are at their shortest,
When the year comes to its end,
The Christmas tree is decorated,
And everyone is looking forward to the feast.
We shall gather here, in this square, to celebrate the season.
And Christkindl Market shall come into being.
Our little huts are once again decked out
With spruce boughs and lights,
waiting to bring you joy and pleasure.
The tables are set and many gifts are waiting for your selection.
May our little market, in its brief splendor,
With its glitter, its sounds and smells
Always be part of our City life.
The season of giving has come!
We express our wishes, and we give presents.
Let us also give joy to those less fortunate.
Let us share what we have with the ones suffering through disaster
and hunger.
Be a child again today. Be as happy as children,
ensure that Christmas is a time of happiness for all!
As Christkindl, I invite you to my market,
All who come are truly welcome!
I now declare it open to you all.
“Let there be light”
A message from Hallelujah Video Producer, Rob Currie
At Christkindl Market in 2020, we missed the inspirational and traditional opening with the Grand Philharmonic Choir singing Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. For 2021 with so much still unknown, Monica Reid and I proposed to the choir that we create a video performance to be shown throughout this year’s outdoor market, online in our Advent Calendar, and on our YouTube channel.
The Grand Philharmonic graciously accepted our offer. For safe spacing and an awesome natural backdrop, we recorded at C to C Productions in Kitchener. The choir performed the Hallelujah Chorus four times so we could record different camera angles using cameras on gimbals, cranes and drones. The crew included Scott Clarke, Paul Williams, Spencer Currie, and myself Rob Currie as shooters, and 88-year-old broadcasting veteran Bob Currie on audio playback. It was amazing to experience this live and then match and select different angles for the video we are sharing with you now. We’re also very thankful the weather cooperated.
It was a success! It replayed every hour during the evenings of the outdoor festival from December 2 to 5, 2021. Thank you to everyone who made this happen, including Entertainment-Wall Sponsor, Desjardin Financial Security Independent Network-SWO.
Rob Currie, C to C Productions, Member of the Christkindl Market Committee
A Message from Monica Reid
Thank you for celebrating 25 years of Christkindl Market with us! We've enjoyed your stories about how we've warmed your hearts, helped you relive memories, and how you have shared your festival favourites with your family and friends. Personally for me, the magic of the festival is seeing the joy in the children's eyes. No matter the age of the child.
The festival is only possible thanks to the generosity of so many partners, sponsors, volunteers, entertainers, vendors and friends. Our plan is for Christkindl Market to continue to present a traditional festival of German Christmas in downtown Kitchener - for many decades to come.
On behalf of the entire Christkindl Market committee, we wish you joy, warmth and a wunderbar Christmas Day and holiday season!
Monica
President, Christkindl Market Committee
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P.S. Hey, you still have until December 30th to engage with us on our Instagram page and qualify to WIN our Eat/Stay/Play valued at $500. Winner will be announced on December 31st.
German Saying-of-the-Day
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht, alles schläft, einsam wacht
Silent night, holy night, all is still, all is bright
Here's a fun challenge: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and share your version of our German Saying-of-the-day. Plus, WIN an EAT l STAY l PLAY valued at $500. Read more.
Nutcracker-of-the-Day
Artist: Pira Urosevic, Waterloo ON
cobaltdragon1@rogers.com | Instagram @piraurosevic
Name of Nutcracker: Major Hazelton
Pira Urosevic is a self-taught, mixed-media illustrator who lives in Waterloo. She shifts between abstract & figurative projects on a regular basis. The mediums in which she works include, but are not limited to: acrylics, cyanotype, graphite, ink, print making, embroidery, textiles, digital illustration, collaging and photography.
Message from the artist:
This was great fun. Thank you for opening up this opportunity to KWSA members. I hope that it will continue next year.
View our whole collection in the Nutcracker Gallery and go visit the nutcrackers in all their glory displayed in downtown Kitchener on a self-guided walk.
Join Us On Social
Share your traditions!
Join our online community on Facebook and Instagram and share your favourite, funny or heartwarming Christmas day stories.
- What are your Christmas Morning traditions?
- Do you open stockings and presents before breakfast?
- What do you look forward to most about Christmas day?
Follow us on Instagram and look for our "Eat Stay Play" contest posts. We'll tell you how you could be the Grand Prize winner and enjoy a night out on the town. Learn more here.
Activities
Activities to do on Christmas Day & Boxing Day
Christmas Day can be spent in so many different ways. If you looking for a new tradition or need some ideas for your own activities, here is a list of Things To Do On Christmas & Boxing Day in the KW Region
Here are some online resources to also help inspire your Christmas Day this year.
Go Skating - List of Outdoor Rinks in Kitchener
Explore Our Trails - Forest & Trails in Waterloo Region
Experience the Wonders of Winter - A Festival of Lights in Waterloo Park
Take an Art Walk - A Field Guide to DTK's Art Walk
Christmas Bucket List
There are so many things to do over the Christmas season. We hope you've enjoyed our activities and have made many wonderful memories. Did you do everything on your bucket list? Here are 50 Fun Holiday Activities & Festive Things to Do
Take Our Survey!
We'd love to hear from you! We welcome you to take our one-minute 2021 Christkindl Market Visitor Anonymous Survey.
A message from Christkindl
"Christkindl Market is a staple of the Christmas season.
As someone who started volunteering at the Market a decade ago and is now enjoying her sixth year of being a part of it, I can attest to how much of an impact Christkindl Market has on individuals and the community. I started off as an angel that accompanied Christkindl and distributed candy to children throughout the Market. I loved every bit of the experience, from greeting friends and family to smelling the food being prepared. Now, I am one of the Christkindls, and the experience is still just like it was for me as a child. I love seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they stop to take a picture, and I enjoy seeing all the vendors return year after year.
Part of why this role is so special to me is that I watch other people make joyful memories at the Market while I make my own happy memories there too.
I am proud to be a part of this tradition that means so much to me, just like it does to the rest of the community that has found a place to bond and celebrate at Christkindl Market over a tradition with such a rich history. Each year, I am amazed by the vendors, the music, the food, and the cheerful environment that makes me so nostalgic of Christkindl Markets past, and also fills me with excitement for more to come in the future!"
~ Christkindl 2021
Photo (l to r): Knecht Ruprecht, Monica, SarahJane McNaughton (KW Oktoberfest) & Christkindl
Christkindl Marketplace of Shops & Artisans
FOOD & BAKERY
CHRISTMAS & DECOR
ARTS & CRAFTS
TOYS & GAMES
CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES
JEWELRY & ACCESSORIES 
HEALTH & BODY
SHOP DTKMy mom has taken my brother and I to the Christkindl Market ever since it first opened. We felt surrounded by love and happiness and enjoyed being around the German community - especially because we could not be with our family in Germany at Christmas. I still remember and still feel the warm feelings I felt that first Christkindl Market. I make sure I attend each year with my Mom and now take my daughter along as well. I hope she too will be able to attend for years to come and in the future, bring her children as well.
Contact
e2eae581KTWf1GVUMgKDheKTa4yUS| | Contact Form
Christkindl Market
Kitchener, ON Canada
#ChristkindlCA #25yearsofChristkindl #KitchenerEvents #DTKlove #ExploreWR
Giving Back
The photos, videos and concerts presented on this website are a chance for visitors to relive Christkindl Markets from 1997 through 2019. In 2020 we were online only.
TAKE OUR SURVEY!