The Christmas Market (Targul de Craciun) is an event that everyone here anticipates. The crowd gathering in good cheer, the wide availability of vin fiert (hot wine aka the best thing ever), and the lighting of the town’s Christmas tree (in Romanian, these trees are simply called “Brad”).

Wrong Brad

The markets are filled with căsuţe (little houses) that sell different items. You can get decorated turta dulce (gingerbread), sausages, fudges/syrups, and other homemade items. They also have great food, usually grilled meat items and desserts (kurtos!).

Examples of decorated gingerbread

At their tree lighting, Brasov had a large concert where Andra and Lidia Buble, two Romanian pop singers, performed their latest hits.

Brasov: Before the tree lighting

Brasov: After the tree lighting (and vin fiert!!)

Since Clau and I are both very into Christmas, we decided to trek up to Sibiu (about 2.5 hours’ drive) and visit their famous Targul de Craciun. It was just as pretty as the news described, with lots of căsuţe and lights. They even had projections mapped on the buildings – winter scenes and snowflakes. Sibiu’s market is much bigger than Brasov’s, so I think it was easier to accommodate more attractions (they had bumper cars and a train for the kids as well). I wish that next year our market will be just as lovely.

Here’s a short video from our trip to the Sibiu Christmas Market:

I was very sad to hear about the Christmas Market in Berlin 😦

People come to these events with so much hope and excitement in their hearts.

I think that’s what we should focus on – remembering that this season is about the best of humanity: celebrating generosity, family, and love.

Merry Christmas to all ❤