German Christmas Charity Bazaar draws thousands

By Huang Xiao

The annual German Christmas Charity Bazaar is becoming more and more popular with the city’s expatriates. Last Saturday, more than 4,000 people turned up at he German Embassy to go Christmas shopping and get their hands on favorites like bratwursts and German wine.

The German Christmas Charity Bazaar at the German Embassy Photo by Huang Xiao

This year’s bazaar, which coincided wth the 20th year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, drew a bigger crowd than expected. One of the embassy guards said people started arriving at 9 am though the event would not begin until 11 am.

The bazaar, usually held a month before Christmas – when hotels around town begin lighting up ther Christmas trees – offers popular German food like bread with curried sausages; maultaschen, or dough pockets with meat filling similar to dumplings; dampfnudel, or steamed noodles, with vanilla sauce; and Gluhwein, or mulled wine.

The bazaar is a red-calendar event for people on the hunt for Christmas gifts and holiday ornaments. On Saturday, booths offered advent wreaths, Christmas decorations, calendars, handicrafts and Christmas cakes and cookies.

While guests did their shopping amid festive music, Santa Claus roamed the grounds and gave a free bottle of beer to birthday celebrants. As parents chose cakes and wines, children were kept busy with games or running on the lawn. Everyone in the expatriate community seemed to be there: it was difficult to turn a corner without bumping into an old friend or a business acquaintance.

But the bazaar was not just about having fun; all proceeds from the event and any donations received that day will go to charity. Recipients include Beijing Sun Village, which helps special children and provides a home to those whose parents are in jail or prison; Beijing Huiling, which works with mentally and physically disabled people; and Beijing Hongdandan, an NGO for the blind.