Why Christmas in Liège?
Discover the history that made the Liège Christmas Village the largest and oldest Christmas village in Belgium.
The Liège Christmas Village is the largest and oldest Christmas market in Belgium. Founded nearly 40 years ago, it has become the country's leading Christmas market in size, length and spirit. It is a unique folk event that brings the traditions of Christmas back to life every year in the heart of Liège.
For more than 20 years, the Cathedral Ice Rink has been an essential part of the Christmas festivities, adding a special touch with its originality and friendly atmosphere.
In keeping with the long-standing Germanic tradition of Christmas markets, the Christmas Village and the Christmas Skating Rink in Liège recreate the magical spirit of the Christmas season in the heart of the city, with the aim of promoting Christmas crafts and highlighting festive gifts and decorations.
The Christmas Village and the Christmas Skating Rink, however, remain true to the Latin character typical of Liège and innovate with a festive and convivial atmosphere, thanks to gastronomic chalets equipped with heated terraces, a specific feature that sets them apart from their German and Alsatian counterparts.
The Christmas Village Council, led by its "Mayeûr", is careful to defend the traditions and language of Liège and Wallonia.
What makes the Liège Christmas Village special is that it has a real heart, beating through its streets. Liège is home to a real village, with its neighbourhoods, the joyful laughter and good-natured squabbles of its "citizens" (that is, its exhibitors), its church with a nativity scene brought to life by Liège puppets, its town hall awash with pèket and good humour, and... its Village Council, which keeps the Village alive and organises a series of typically Liège folk activities.
True to tradition, the Village Council, led by its jovial Mayeûr Maurice Wilkin, a Liégeois through and through, will induct many honorary citizens and ambassadors of the Village. A Village Councillor is easy to recognise: a red sash trimmed with ermine and bearing one or two stars, a glass of "Ardent" pèket in hand, the anthem written by the Village bard Michel Azaïs, sung loud and proud, and a medal showing the symbols of Tchantchès, the pèket bottle, the Perron, the star, the fir tree and the Village motto, proudly displayed on a shiny badge: "Tos les djous Noyé!" ("Christmas every day!")!
For the third year, the Christmas Village is home to an original and spectacular attraction: a Christmas Pyramid standing twelve metres tall… A real crowd-puller, the Christmas Pyramid was the most photographed feature of the last edition and drew large, curious crowds…
The origins of this Pyramid, a tradition that rivals the great Christmas tree, go back to the Middle Ages and probably lie in southern Germany. A well-established tradition at German Christmas markets, the Christmas Pyramid makes a striking appearance on Place du Marché, strengthening the Village's Christmas tradition with a spectacular decoration that can be seen from afar…
Hungry visitors can enjoy German sausages such as currywurst or Alsatian pretzels, washed down with German mulled wine, Crémant d'Alsace or a shot of schnapps.
In the heart of the Euregio, close to Maastricht and Valkenburg, Aachen and Cologne, Hasselt and even Strasbourg, on the route of the German Christmas markets, Liège was named "European Capital of Christmas" in 2018!
