A nostalgically decorated market town, where the narrow streets are filled with appetizing scents, Christmas melodies resonate, and a radiant Christmas tree towers over the densely packed crowd of shoppers – this is how the people of Dresden know their Christmas market. Heidrun Wozel tells the story of one of the oldest German Christmas markets: she depicts a market visit around 1700 and describes the Striezelmarkt and Christmas celebrations during the Third Reich, in the GDR, and up to the present day. The reader learns a great deal about festival design and customs in Dresden families and the public life of the city, about festive foods and artisanal techniques. Through life memories and letters from well-known personalities, as well as songs, verses, and stories, the book unfolds a panorama of over five centuries of the Striezelmarkt.