Berlin Christmas market opens early, drawing church criticism

For the first time in decades, a major Berlin Christmas market is breaking the long-standing rule that the festive stalls should open only after Totensonntag, the Sunday of remembrance for the dead. The Charlottenburg Christmas market at the Gedächtniskirche on Breitscheidplatz will open on 13 November this year, rather than on 23 November. The showmen's association, the Schaustellerverband, and the AG City are organizing it.

The early start has brought criticism. The pastor of the Gedächtniskirche objects to the date. The headline of the original report also carries the phrase "Das ist respektlos" ("That is disrespectful"), but the text available does not say who said it. The Handelsverband, the retail association, has likewise distanced itself from the early opening.

Preparations are well under way. Construction work for roughly 100 stalls on the square is in full swing, as the organizers get ready for the earlier-than-usual start of the market.