The Kristkindlmarkt at the Lindenhof started in 2010 by Harmonie of the Peoria German American Society. Kristkindlmarkts or Christkindlmarkts have been very popular in German speaking countries for centuries and are gaining popularity all across the United States today. Kristkindlmarkts or German Christmas Markets are a centuries old tradition beginning in the 15th Century. This is typically an ou
tdoor street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. Originally the market was held to bring church-goers together to share homemade Christmas crafts such as nutcrackers, tree ornaments, toys, and more. Due to the success of the event more vendors wanted to participate. Since the facility is fairly small we went to two weekend in 2012. Our event is different from most Christmas Markets in the area. We feature live entertainment on both days. Besides Santa and Mrs. Claus we also have the Kristkind or Kristkindl. The Kristkind represents the Christ Child and is considered to be the original gift giver according to Martin Luther, who wanted to make Christmas less secular. Our Kristkind is a young lady dressed up as an angel, whose job is to great visitors to our market and to pass out candy canes to the little ones. You also might see a monk or an Old World Santa wandering around the event as well as folks dressed in lederhosen and dirndls, authentic German country clothing. The hall is also decorated and lighted to match the season. We serve pork schnitzel and bratwurst sandwich plates along with strudel. Make sure you also try our gluhwein, which is a hot, spiced wine from our own special recipe. Folks that attend our Christmas market come to not on enjoy the Holiday Season, but to shop for many one of our kind arts and crafts. The event features both indoor and outdoor vendors. We have room for 18 eight foot tables for vendors to set up on. Outside in heated tents we have another 5-8 vendors. Due to the limited number of vendors, vendors do not compete with each other as much as they would at other Christmas craft shows. Many of our vendors have been with us since the beginning.
