Celebrating Memories of Christmas Past at the 35th Annual Old World Christmas Village & Market

An annual Christmas tradition for my mom and me is a visit to The Old World Christmas Village & Market the first Friday in December. Mom and I first learned of this event from an ad in the holiday bazaars newspaper insert several years ago.  We were headed downtown to the Holiday Author Fair at the Indiana Historical Society and noticed the market was the same day so we could check it out while we were nearby.  That first year we went on a Saturday, but afterwards we switched to going at 5:00 on Friday when the market first opens.  Neither of us are early birds so that works out better of the two days for our schedules, plus we get to see the best selection of baked goods and items for sale.  It reminded us so much of Christmas past, with an astounding variety of fresh, florist-quality greenery to buy, homemade baked goods – many of them made with old world recipes, and antiques and crafts for sale.  All of the prices are so reasonable and we’ve been amazed at some of the bargains we’ve found throughout the years.  The Old World Christmas Village & Market is held at the Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Christian Church at the corner of 16^th and Delaware streets in Indianapolis.  The Romanesque Revival building was built from 1894-1901 and became Joy of All Who Sorrow’s home in 1988.  The description of the event on Facebook sums it up perfectly: “Come warm your hands and hearts at this magical little village, unlike anything else in Indianapolis.” It really is so very unique and special!

The highlights of the market for us are the fresh greenery, bakery, and general store.  Every year we receive a flyer in the mail so we can place our greenery order in advance.  I typically order six feet of cedar/Douglas fir mixed roping for my mantel, a mixed wreath for my door made of fir, cedar and berried juniper, and a bag of holly to accent my mantel or vintage snowman pitcher.  Mom gets a larger wreath, a swag for her vintage sled (which was a Christmas gift I bought her at the market from a lady who used to sell antiques there; it was such a bargain!), and greenery for her bench (the same beautiful bench she decorates with pumpkins in the fall).  It’s a LOT of heavy stuff to carry (along with all our baked goods and other market purchases!) for several city blocks to our car, so we’ve learned to bring large trash bags to help a little bit!  The choices of greenery available are just so beautiful and all so reasonable.  Several wreaths are displayed at the market that you can purchase if you didn’t pre-order one, and there are lots of impulse add-ons available to buy too like winterberry, gorgeous handmade bows, and Joy Mix, which is a selection of beautiful greenery and berries.  There is also a whole tree (real, of course) filled with handmade bows to buy, and they are so reasonable.  The largest bows are only $3.25, which is what the ribbon alone to make one would cost.  I’ve purchased bows to decorate my lamp post from the market, as well as a cute gingerbread bow I affix to my light fixture in my entryway.  I purchased a new bow for my lamp post this year along with a bag of winterberry to decorate my mantel with, since the holly froze in transit and they had to cancel holly orders this year.  The fresh greenery options are endless: pepperberry, boxwood, pine, and balsam to name a few more.

The general store is a treasure trove of vintage and handmade items.  We love to root through everything, but especially the antique items, and are blown away by the bargains.  This year I bought my mom the three antique dolls pictured below for her vintage doll-themed Christmas tree.  The grand total for all three? $11!  She may have bought me a pair of antique brass reindeer for Christmas!  There are several booths of vendors too selling handmade items including wood ornaments, fused glass ornaments and plates, fair trade items, stained glass and old fashioned toys.

We always stop at the bakery before leaving.  Some of the best Christmas cookies I’ve ever tasted – besides my Mom’s, which are hands-down the best baked goods on the planet – have come from the market.  You’ll find a dizzying array of sweet treats and classic old world favorites like German Pfeffernusse, Slovenian snowflakes, gingerbread, shortbread, Scandinavian almond bars, Russian Napoleon, baklava…  You can pick from three sizes of bakery boxes to fill by buying your favorite cookies by the piece.

As we were leaving, we saw St. Lucia arrive, with a basket of hot cross buns and a wreath of six real candles on her crown!  St. Lucia’s Day signals the start of the Christmas season in Scandinavia and is meant to bring hope and light during the dark of winter.  I didn’t get a photo of her as my hands and arms were full, but it was definitely a joy to see her!  And The Old World Christmas Village & Market graciously allowed me to share these photos of St. Lucia:

I can’t wait to return to the market next year. Following are more of my photos from the market and my décor using our greenery purchases. Wishing you all a merry Christmas filled with traditions old and new!