The Christmas market season is approaching - and this year it starts particularly early in some places.

The fact that the stalls stand longer and visitors can drink punch and rummage through handicrafts as early as mid-November should enable showmen to earn higher income after the long Corona break.

And some Christmas markets stay open late in the evenings so that many people can come during the week, outside of the rush hour on the weekend.

Which rules apply to the second season with Corona is not yet clear everywhere.

In some cities, the Christmas season is longer this time: The “Winterzauber Berlin” starts on November 5th. After the cancellation in 2020, visitors would get variety and fun earlier, explained organizer Carmen Blume. And the exhibitors would have "two to three weeks ahead of the other Christmas markets". As an exception, the market in Offenbach, Hesse, starts earlier - on November 15th. One reason is to support the showmen after the long Corona break without income, the city said. In Darmstadt it starts on the same day, in Giessen on November 18th.

With the early start, on the one hand, they wanted to make the guests happy, said Frank Hölscheidt, Managing Director of Gießen Marketing GmbH.

"In addition, there were inquiries from the trade and from the operators of the stands, who of course are also happy about the early start of the Christmas market and the ice rink."

Christmas market until January 9th

The “Lamberti Market” in Oldenburg will also start a week earlier this time, on November 16.

In Hanover there is another relief for the showmen and traders: the council has halved the fees.

And the showmen at the Christkindlmarkt in downtown Munich are allowed to stay a good two weeks longer than normal, until January 9th.

The world-famous Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt, on the other hand, lasts just as long and is about as big as always.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, too, the Christmas markets are no longer due to the corona pandemic.

“Overall, the traditional running times remain,” said Albert Ritter, head of the working group of the showmen's associations in North Rhine-Westphalia.

However, in some cases the area of ​​the markets has been enlarged, for example in Essen, where there are fewer visitor streets and wider paths.

The number of professional feeders has remained the same compared to the time before Corona, said Ritter.

In NRW, the 3-G rule applies to the Christmas markets - that is, visitors must prove that they have been vaccinated against Corona, are considered recovered or have a negative Corona test.

This is signposted and there will be random checks, said Ritter.

No general 3-G rule in Bavaria

In Bavaria there is no general 3G regulation on Christmas markets. It only has to be adhered to in the catering trade in delimited indoor areas - provided the local incidence is above 35, which is currently the case almost everywhere. The organizers can, however, apply stricter rules. In the open air, there is no mask requirement on the Bavarian markets. If minimum distances cannot be maintained, a medical face mask is recommended. In Hesse, the cities impose requirements, from distance requirements to the 2-G rule on covered stands or in huts.

What is required later in November and then in December, however, could still change - due to the development of the pandemic or because regulations expire.

In Saxony-Anhalt, for example, the new state corona ordinance, which will then also apply to the Christmas markets, is not yet available.

In Magdeburg, however, according to the city, the market should be open every working day at least until 10 p.m. so that a visit can also be planned outside the busy weekend.

It starts here on November 22nd and probably in the scope and with the arrangement of 2019.

Organizers plan to implement the rules

In Nuremberg, the city wants to distribute the well-known Christkindlesmarkt to several inner-city squares.

Even with the traditional opening by a Christ Child actress, there are cutbacks - instead of from the balcony of the Frauenkirche, it is only available on television this year.

In Stuttgart, the market opens its doors to visitors from the third week of November.

But as in many municipalities, it is currently still unclear which rules will apply to the market, as Jörg Klopfer from the organizer in Stuttgart said.

The country's social ministry promised the return of the Christmas markets at the end of September and laid down basic rules at the same time.

The state leaves it up to the organizers to decide how they are implemented.

For Mark Roschmann from the Schaustellerverband Südwest, the return of the Christmas markets is a "liberation" despite the Corona requirements.

After a break of around two years, they are a start into the new season for dealers, said Roschmann.

The managing director of the Hessian state association for market trade and showmen sees it similarly: “From an economic point of view, we rate it as elementary and vital for our members.

Especially since the state Corona bridging aid expires at the end of the year, "said Roger Simak.

According to him, the Advent season could also have a positive effect on the industry in the long term: "We think that if the Christmas markets work well, we can look to the fair and folk festivals with more hope again in 2022."