Winterfest in Salzburg attracts guests not only with the traditional Christmas market, but also with circus performances by renowned artists
AUSTRIA
Winterfest, November 26 – December 31. Volksgarten, Salzburg. During Advent, Salzburg attracts guests not only with the traditional Christmas market, but also with circus performances by renowned artists. This year, as part of Winterfest, two circus troupes from France will perform – Cirque Hors Pistes with the show "Idyllic Coma" and Cirque Trottola with the program "Top". On December 7, the premiere of the youth circus SaWaZi from Salzburg will take place.
The first 100 adult tickets purchased before December 6 are sold for €22, for children under 15 – for €11, after December 6 prices will rise: €30-34 for adults and €15 for children. Students are promised discounts. On December 31, the gala closing of the festival and the New Year's celebration with an extensive culinary and artistic program will take place. Cost of participation in the celebration and banquet – €107. //www.winterfest.at
BELGIUM
Christmas Village (Village de Noel), November 28 – December 30, Antwerp. Residents of Antwerp claim that their Christmas market is the best and largest in Belgium. Every year it gathers about a million guests. Walloon and French crafts, garlands, greeting cards, marzipan, gingerbread, coffee, oysters, chocolate, mulled wine, champagne, beer, blood sausage (or "black pudding", as locals call it) – this is just a small part of what you can find or taste here. This year's special guest of Village de Noel will be a Christmas market from Thuringia, so you can try not only Antwerp treats, but also Erfurt ones. //www.enjeu.be
New Year's Horse Races, December 26-30, Mechelen. This year, the races in Mechelen celebrate their 29th anniversary. The program begins with a five-day marathon of international cups in dressage, driving, and actual racing. Then the program includes competitions of class CSI2* and CSIJ-A and other international and regional classes. Ticket prices for all performances – from 15 to 47 euros. //www.jumping-mechelen.com
VATICAN
Christmas Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, December 24-25, Vatican. Those who want to see with their own eyes how the most grandiose event in the Catholic church calendar takes place, and hear the famous message "Urbi et Orbi" from the pope himself, must come to St. Peter's Square on the evening of December 24. Those wishing to enter the basilica will face an endless queue, while others can watch the Mass on huge screens right from the square. Here will also be located a huge nativity scene with life-sized figures. After the Mass, you can follow the cheerful crowds of parishioners on a walk through night-time Rome, but keep in mind: the Romans themselves prefer to rest on this night, so the only transport available to you will be taxis. //www.vatican.va
GREAT BRITAIN
Spitalfields Music Festival, December 9-12, London. According to the organizers, the Spitalfields Festival is a spicy mix of musical events of all kinds of styles and directions, united by the theme of Christmas. A mandatory part of the program is the performance of Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Brandenburg Concertos. This year, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, a renowned interpreter of baroque music, will conduct the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists. The program also includes free events for children and their parents, gospel singing, concerts of youth and children's choirs of Great Britain, jazz concerts, museum visits, and even a conversation with Sir Gardiner. //www.spitalfieldsfestival.org.uk
Olympia International Horse Show, December 15-21, Grand Hall Olympia, London. The first two days will be given to dressage competitions of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), and from December 17, spectators will be treated to daily performances and races. By the way, not only horses but also dogs will enter the arena. This year's special guest is trainer Jean-François Pignon. His shows will take place daily from the evening of December 16. Also in the Olympia arena, you will be able to see a unique dressage master class led by the famous Dutchman Edward Gal together with his partner, the stallion named Moorlands Totillas. Ticket prices for all competitions and performances – from 19 to 51 pounds. //www.olympiahorseshow.com
GERMANY
Christmas Market. November 27 – December 24, Nuremberg. On the main market square, 180 wooden stalls have already been set up with Nuremberg gingerbread, cakes, sweets, golden angels, nativity scenes, Christmas tree decorations, candles, and toys. The best "endemic" souvenir from Nuremberg is the Zwetschgenmannle, little figures made from dried plums, nuts, and toothpicks. Of course, a walk through the market must be accompanied by grilled sausages and mulled wine. For children, there are carousels, workshops for making candles, Christmas tree balls, a bakery, and a free service from Santa Claus – giving out gifts prepared in advance by parents with a photo recording of this memorable event. //www.christkindlesmarkt.de
ITALY
Umbria Jazz Festival, December 30 – January 1, Orvieto. The three-day jazz marathon in Orvieto is a great opportunity not only to listen to good music but also to see the old town. Among the festival's music venues are the Mancinelli Theatre, Palazzo del Popolo, the museum of sculptor Emilio Greco, the San Francesco restaurant, the square in front of the Duomo Cathedral, Palazzo del Gusto, and the city's clubs. The festival will open with a street parade. The culmination of the program will be New Year's Eve with dinner, and the festive Mass in the local Gothic Duomo Cathedral will be accompanied by gospel performers. Simultaneously with the festive Mass in the cathedral, you can enjoy the frescoes by Fra Angelico and Luca Signorelli.
Among the festival guests are Kurt Elling, Bill Frisell, John Scofield, Jim Hall and many others. Ticket prices are from 12 to 33 euros (not including the cost of the festive dinner). //ujw17.umbriajazz.com
SPAIN
Festival of Moors and Christians, December 6, Alicante. The December festival is only part of the annual cycle of celebrations of various events from the history of the city, region and all of Spain. In the morning, residents take to the streets in anticipation of the parade of Moors and Christians, dressed in ancient costumes. The procession is accompanied by reenactments and reconstructions of the relationships between the heroes of Spanish history. The main character of the December parade is the patron saint of the city, Saint Nicholas.
NETHERLANDS
XIV International Circus Festival, December 18-27, Volkspark, Enschede. In the Volkspark of the city of Enschede, a whole circus village of many tents will be built for the festival. The main tent, where performances will be held, will accommodate 2000 spectators, and next to it there will be a tent where you can eat well and look at exhibitions. During the 9 days of the festival, 18 performances will be given, each lasting 2.5-3 hours. Among the participants are clowns Oleg Popov and Gagik Avetisyan, the snake woman Tanya Vinnik (Ukraine), Yulia Chakanova and her trained poodles (Russia), Marcel Kalsivaart with a fire show (Netherlands), the acrobatic 'Trio Voznevski' and the duet 'Vector' (Poland), The Bikers (Ukraine), The Flying Zuniga (Brazil), as well as artists from Kyrgyzstan, Germany, Czech Republic, France and the Netherlands.
Contest participants at the festival will be awarded in two categories – by the professional jury and by the public. Between 75 and 100 selected spectators, which can include any guest, participate in choosing the gold, silver and bronze prize winners. The festival will end with a gala performance and awarding of the competition winners. Ticket prices are from 14 to 45 euros. //www.circusfestival.com
FINLAND
Christmas at the Suomenlinna Fortress (Sveaborg), December 28 – January 6, Helsinki. The Suomenlinna Fortress (the name translates as 'Finnish Fortress', also Sveaborg – 'Swedish Fortress') was built in the mid-18th century. At that time it was called Viapori. After Finland gained independence from Russia in December 1917, the fortress was named 'Finnish'. Its history is connected in one way or another with almost all military events in Europe, Finland and Russia over the last three centuries. Since 1973, the fortress has been turned into a museum and placed under the Ministry of Education, and in 1991 UNESCO declared it a World Heritage site.
Staff of the local museum will tell about how Christmas was celebrated from the first days of the fortress, and children will learn what a gnome fortress is. Guided tours in Russian are daily, in English on weekends. The tour begins daily at the visitor information center at 1:30 PM. You can wait for the fortress tour in the local toy museum, which will be open from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM every day. //www.suomenlinna.fi
FRANCE
Paris Horse Salon, December 5-13, Paris. The Paris Salon is an event for those who not only love to look at horses but also know how to handle them or want to learn. The salon features a huge exhibition with pavilions dedicated to feeding, care, breeding, housing and transport of horses. You can purchase all kinds of equipment for riders and grooms, get acquainted with different schools of dressage, works of art dedicated to horses, and even buy carriages and carts. For children, a 'village' will be built where they can ride ponies for free, learn horseback riding and feed a horse. Tickets for adults – €12.5, for children over 6 – €8. //www.salon-cheval.com
St. Andrew's Fair, November 30 – December 1, Avignon. At the Avignon fair you can try all the traditional delicacies of Provence and Avignon itself. The fair is named in honor of Andrew the First-Called, as it begins on the day of his commemoration in the Gregorian calendar. Nowhere else will you find the original Avignon Papalines, dark chocolate sweets with oregano liqueur. Here you can also try soft goat cheese, buy local ceramics as a souvenir, a calendar with Provencal landscapes and much more.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Saint Mikuláš Day and Christmas Market, December 5, Prague. Towards the evening of December 5, three figures will wander through the old town: Mikuláš, an angel and a devil. Of course, they will immediately be surrounded by a crowd of children and their parents. Mikuláš will ask every child he meets if they behaved well in the past year, and of course get a positive answer. But the trials don't end there: to get a treat or a gift from Mikuláš, you have to sing a song or recite a poem. Serious rule-breakers will find coals or potatoes in their socks instead of gifts, and the most naughty ones are threatened with being put in the devil's sack and sent to hell (though they say this has never happened yet).
The celebration of Saint Mikuláš takes place in the midst of the Christmas markets on the squares of Old Prague, so do not miss the opportunity to try grilled sausages, boiled corn on the cob, //www.pragueexperience.com
SWITZERLAND
Marathon (December 5) and Escalade Festival (December 8-11), Geneva. Every year on the first Saturday of December, a marathon takes place in Geneva. Both young and old can run through the narrow streets of the old city or cheer for the runners. Distances for participants – from 2 to 8 km, for sports and Nordic walking specialists – only 8 km.
The holiday continues on December 8. A costumed procession will appear on the streets in honor of the victory over the invader Duke Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy, which the Genevans won in 1602. The duke's troops climbed ladders onto the city walls, so the entire holiday is called Escalade. Streets will be filled with pikemen and ladies in luxurious antique costumes. In memory of Mère Royaume, who happened to be on the city wall that night and, noticing enemy soldiers, poured a whole cauldron of boiling soup on their heads, a delicious vegetable soup is served on the streets of Geneva during the holiday. //www.1602.ch
Fyodor VINTER-TARASEVICH.
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