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Month: December 2011

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Merry Christmas

As we head home to enjoy our families and holiday traditions, I thought I’d share a few of our favorite images from Rick Steves’ European Christmas (watch it now on hulu.com). My goal a few years ago, when we produced our European Christmas special for PBS, was to bring America an intimate and non-commercial look at traditional and sacred Christmas celebrations in a TV show that would be enjoyed for years to come. Thanks to the hard work and creative talent of our staff and our friends in public television, and to travelers all over the country who tune into our show, our European Christmas special has become an regular part of the Christmas programming for stations across the USA. As you enjoy these images, which take you—as if on Santa’s sleigh—to seven different countries, it’s my hope that they might inspire us all to live our holiday traditions with both lots of loved ones and lots of love. Merry Christmas from all of us here at Rick Steves’ Europe.

Rick Steves' Crew
My dueling PBS crews and I celebrated Christmas seven times in two weeks as we distilled Europe's many holiday traditions into a new TV special.

Dashing through the snow
Dashing through the snow, in a two horse open sleigh, we scrambled to bring home the wonders of Christmas through the eyes of a child, parent, and pilgrim.

Wide-eyed daughters
We found time-honored rituals remain strong. In villages around Salzburg, dads swing incense as they bless their farmhouses and pass the rich traditions of Christmas down to wide-eyed daughters.

High in the Swiss Alps
High in the Swiss Alps, filming things looking traditional is no problem.

St. Francis
Ever since the days of St. Francis, living manger scenes are all the rage in small town Tuscany.

Vatican
And each December, at the Vatican in Rome, Europe's biggest manger scene stands in front of its biggest church.

Pope John Paul II
Inside St. Peters Basilica, Pope John Paul II celebrated his last Christmas Mass in 2004.

Candle-lit girls choir
Throughout Europe, normally empty churches were filled. In Oslo's oldest church, a candle-lit girls choir sings in the season.

Tree candles
In much of Europe, the candles on the tree are real.

Eiffel Tower
Paris celebrates the holidays with ice skating half way up the Eiffel Tower.

Nurnberg
And the squares are busy with bundled up shoppers. Nürnberg hosts Germany's favorite Christmas market.

Santa
Gifts come via a multitude of traditional gift givers. High in the Swiss Alps, the local Santa, his scary sidekick, and a friendly donkey drop into each home to see if the little kids were naughty or nice.

Christkind
In southern Germany, an angel named the Christkind brings the goodies. She tells the wonder-struck children "if you're very, very gentle…you can touch my wings."

Very Gentle
…and the children are very, very gentle.

French Mayor
In small town France, the mayor spreads Christmas cheer, going door to door with gifts.

Pudding
And in Merry Olde England, as everywhere, parents whip up traditional goodies. This pudding's for you.

Merry Christmas
I join Europe in wishing a very merry Christmas...

Goodwill
...filled with peace and goodwill to all.
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A Holiday Contest: Tell me your favorite global Christmas story

For the next couple weeks my public radio show (and podcast) Travel with Rick Steves will celebrate holiday traditions from around the world. Here is a short clip that explores the many different ways to say “Merry Christmas!” as a Scot.

To get all the more into the holiday spirit, I’d like to host a contest. Record a short audio file (mp3 preferably, 2 mins or less) on the theme, “A Global Holiday Season”.  Tell a funny Christmas abroad story. Sing your favorite European carol. Enlighten us on a unique holiday tradition you’ve integrated into your own family’s celebration. Be creative!

Email the mp3 file to my publicist (media@ricksteves.com) by midnight on Monday the 19th, and I’ll choose my favorite three. The winners will get their story posted on my Facebook page, an autographed Rick Steves book of their choice, and the chance of their entry being aired on my Christmas 2012 radio show.

Good luck and Happy Holidays!

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.