by CLARE FLANAGAN
CARMEL, Ind. (Dec. 2018) - Many teens dream of traveling the world and experiencing new cultures, and while international travel is something everyone should experience at one point, traveling can be expensive and difficult to access. Luckily, a now annual addition to the city of Carmel, IN, brings a bit of international flavor to central Indiana. The Carmel Christkindlmarkt is a beautiful Christmas market marked by twinkling lights and an outdoor ice skating rink that looks like a scene out of a movie, but the market has a greater purpose than to just look stunning. It intends to spread the beauty of German Christmas traditions and is filled to the brim with authentic German foods, gifts, culture, people and cheer.
The Head Coordinator, Maria Murphy, was once a foreign exchange student herself and avidly volunteered herself for the project when she heard about the Mayor’s plans to open up a Christmas market in Carmel. She wanted to spread her love for the German culture and holiday spirit.
“In the mid-west in particular to have an event like this, my hope is that people will experience what in the German language they call Gemütlichkeit, or a warm feeling of togetherness, and that’s what I want to create here” Murphy said.
This year, in addition to all of the wonderful aspects of German culture from last year’s market, a large Pyramid resides in the center of all the activity. It houses a selection of mulled wines and ciders served at the market under its large array of wooden Nativity carvings. Such large structures of the Pyramid have only been around for the last 10 years, and the one at the Carmel Christkindlmarkt is the only one of its kind in the United States.
The Carmel Christkindlmarkt is home to many cultural German Christmas experiences and is open to the public from Nov. 16 to Dec. 23. It is incredibly beautiful and truly brings a taste of authentic Germany to Hamilton county.