Prague Christmas Market: Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square

If you live in Asia, the culture of Christmas markets is unfamiliar. This is because European-style squares, a characteristic of European cities, do not exist in Asia, and Christianity was introduced relatively recently. In Asia, Christianity is just one of many religions people believe in. As a result, I have almost no experience with Christmas markets. I even thought a Christmas market was just a regular store decorated with Christmas ornaments.

Now, there is also a Christmas market in Aalborg, where I live, and I have become accustomed to it as I pass by. After a while, it feels like an everyday thing, and I don't think much about it anymore. Just something like, "Oh, people are waiting for Christmas," or "The market is hyggelig."

On December 23rd and 24th, we were at the Christmas market in Prague.

The Christmas market was held in the Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) and Wenceslas Square (Václavské nám.).

As always, countless stalls filled the Old Town Square. I couldn't help but wonder where all these vendors came from. They were selling Czech foods like chimney cakes, sausages, wine, mulled wine, souvenirs, and handicrafts, filling up the square. The Old Town Square is particularly special because medieval buildings surround it, including the Town Hall with the Prague Astronomical Clock and the Church of Our Lady before Týn.

Because of this, Prague is one of Europe's top four Christmas markets. However, I wondered if my expectations had been too high. I had already been to several other Christmas markets, and since the products sold at the stalls were quite similar to those in different places, there wasn't much to see while walking around. It was more of a feeling like, "So this is what the Christmas market in Prague feels like…"

So, I just took a few photos as a keepsake.

(Strangely enough, the square was completely empty by the time it was the 25th.)