Christkindl goes Chicago - 10 German Christmas markets around the world

The largest German-inspired Christmas market outside of Germany and Austria takes place in the UK's second-largest city. From mid-November to Christmas Eve, visitors can browse over 120 booths offering arts and crafts, or treat themselves to roasted almonds and "glühwein," or mulled wine. While the market is on, downtown Birmingham sparkles with festive holiday decorations as well.

At the Christmas market in Sapporo, a city of two million people in northern Japan, visitors can purchase Christmas ornaments and annual commemorative mugs. The traditional German "Weihnachtsmarkt" was established in 2002 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sapporo's city partnership with Munich.

The Windy City has one of the oldest German holiday markets in the US. More than 20 years ago, Chicago was inspired by the Bavarian city of Nuremberg and decided to host a Christkindlmarket as well. More than one million people come each year to see the giant Christmas tree at Daley Plaza. For the opening ceremony, the Nuremberg Christkindl is flown in from Germany.

This Christmas market, organizers say, "brings [the] festive Old World tradition" of holiday markets to Vancouver on the west coast of Canada. In addition to "glühwein," there's also German beer on tap. Young visitors can participate in a scavenger hunt along the twinkling pathways of [the] European-inspired Christmas village, meet the market mascots Holly and Jolly, or buy tree ornaments.

For over 10 years, the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce has organized a German Christmas market in Delhi. Its "fusion of business and entertainment" provides entrepreneurs with "an excellent opportunity to ... market their products to tens of thousands of visitors," the chamber states. Delhi is not the only Indian city that has a Christmas market — the German Embassy in Kolkata held one in 2015.

The UK capital has many Christmas markets. One takes place on the south bank of the river Thames. True to German tradition, arts and crafts are sold from little wooden huts and visitors can enjoy German bratwurst. The British newspaper "The Guardian" wrote Britain is relatively new to the tradition of Christmas markets, but "their popularity … shows there is certainly an appetite" for them.

The number of holiday markets in the Chinese metropolis grows from year to year. Many of them are German in character, featuring decorated huts, Advent treats and "glühwein" booths. Unlike in Germany, however, visitors in Shanghai usually have to pay an entrance fee to enjoy the festive feeling.

These little smoke men are available at the Leeds Christmas market. When you're finished shopping and need to warm up, there's the "Kuh Stall," or cow barn, where hot drinks and food are on offer. A highlight for children is "Santa's Breakfast," which takes place on weekends. Guests are welcomed by elves, and Father Christmas himself will stop by the tables with a gift for each kid.

For more than 25 years, New Yorkers have been able to enjoy that special holiday feeling with an international twist. The city that never sleeps has several Christmas markets across town, with some offering German food specialties like roasted almonds and gingerbread. The only thing you won't find is real "glühwein," since drinking alcohol in public is prohibited almost everywhere in the US.

In Scotland's capital you can find traditional German Christmas markets right next to those with local specialties. After you first get some presents, brats and "glühwein," you can then finish the outing with Scottish whiskey to warm yourself up. Cheers to that, and Merry Christmas!