For 20 years the Union Square Holiday Market has delighted New Yorkers and tourists alike.
Product arrives from everywhere; Bali, Lebanon, Tunisia, Mexico, Turkey and dozens of other places help make this market as diverse as the city itself.
It’s not easy to get in.
Twice as many applications arrive for the market’s 100 spaces.
Applicants are interviewed and they must supply samples of their goods to gain acceptance.
Did you know the history of this market actually dates back to the Middle Ages?
Not our North American Middle Ages.
But the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, Germany-- literally Christ-to Child-- dates back to the early 1600’s.
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Each year, skipping only the Allied bombing raids of 1939-1948, 2 million people descend on the Haupmarket, a center square in the alt stadt, (old town), of Nuremberg.
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They come for gifts, naturally, but also bratwurst, gingerbread and mulled red wine.
I shot this photo while visiting in 1994.
Our New York market on the square has a direct lineage to this European tradition, even booths of red and white!
Cool stuff, here!
