Avery Thorpe

Carmel Christkindlmarkt Sign

This year, the Carmel Christkindlmarkt is partnering with the Indiana German Heritage Society to create a more authentic market. A pyramid with over 3,000 lights has been built for the Carmel Christkindlmarkt, which will run from tomorrow through Dec. 23, and will take place in the Center Green by the Palladium. The market and the ice rink will be open Wednesdays through Sundays.

The pyramid will serve as a dispensary for traditional mulled wines called glühweins and other alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. There will be 11 alcoholic drinks and two non alcoholic drinks available for purchase.

“Last year the most popular items were the glühwein mugs and the wine itself, but we got a lot of feedback that the lines were very long and that was really frustrating because we ordered 10,000 mugs and ran out of them in nine days,” Maria Murphy, CEO and Market Master for the Christkindlmarkt, said of the reasoning behind building the glühwein pyramid. According to Murphy, the pyramid is a result of a partnership between Christkindlmarkt and a German nutcracker company called Steinbach. Murphy hopes that the pyramid, which is the only one of its kind in the country, will give the market a more authentic feel.

German teacher Angelika Becker, who is from around Nuremberg, Germany, which is home to one of the largest Christkindlmarkts in the world, said, “Our Christkindlmarkt here in Carmel is pretty authentic. The pyramid, that’s really a German thing. The German exchange teacher who was here saw a picture of it, and she said, ‘Oh that’s just like in Wiesbaden,’ so it’s not at every Christmas market because it takes up a lot of space and they are sometimes in a smaller space but if they have the big space they do have those pyramids. It is really very traditional.”

Becker said, to make the experience more authentic, the Christkindlmarkt should consider adding more traditional food, such as roasted nuts, and also less expensive gifts for purchase.

In the long term, Murphy said she would also like to add a program that allows German university students to come to America to work at the market, which she says would give the market an even more authentic feel, as well as allow German students to experience the United States

Annalena Noll, a German exchange student who is currently staying in the United States said, “I think the relationship Carmel has with Germany is really, really cool. I think the exchange program we have here at the school is a great opportunity for students of Carmel High School and my school as well, and I think the other things that Carmel does are really cool.”

Construction of the pyramid is already completed. In addition to the pyramid, the market is also adding a traditional grill, as well as a kids corner and meet-and-greets with traditional German figures.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Avery Thorpe

Ice at Center Green