Are there too many 'German' Christmas markets?

These tourists’ favorites have steamed through Europe and beyond -- but now they risk losing their traditional heart

Germany’s most successful recent export may be not a sleek new luxury saloon car or top of the line dishwasher, but something more down-to-earth: the Christmas market.

German-themed markets have steamed through Europe and beyond, leaving in their wake the debris of abandoned indigenous traditions and the lingering scent of gingerbread and mulled wine.

In Britain, clusters of Alpine-ish huts selling wooden toys, wurst and warm booze have become regular fixtures in London and other cities from Birmingham to Belfast.

"Frohe Weihnacht!” reads the glazed scrawl on a gingerbread morsel from one of the market's websites -- nary a sign of the more location-specific “Merry Christmas!”

Britain’s tabloid newspapers would surely be scrambling for puns rhyming with “huns” if only half their readers didn’t no doubt love this change from their standard Christmas fare.

Whereas previously a typical British festive season meant a department store splurge, a quick squeeze on “Santa’s” knee and a bout of indigestion, now you can be transported to a sweet-smelling seasonal wonderland after only a dawdle down to the town square.

source:http://travel.cnn.com/have-german-christmas-markets-lost-their-heart-182081?hpt=travel_hp_blogroll