Middletown Church To Hold First-Ever Outdoor Christmas Market

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Saint Mary Mother of God Church in Middletown announced they will hold their first-ever outdoor Christmas Market this year, and they are looking for vendors.

Their first annual Christmas market (ChristKindlMarkt) will be held Friday, December 11 (5-9 p.m.) and all day Saturday and Sunday, December 12 and 13 (8 a.m.- 8 p.m.).

For information about becoming a vendor, please call Hank Pekarsky, Parish Business Manager at 732-671-0071, ext. 221 or email hperkarsky@verizon.net.

Says the church:

"All vendors are welcome to participate in a weekend that will usher in the Advent and Christmas season with festive music and choirs, games and rides for kids, a spectacular Christmas Tree lighting, pictures and breakfast with Santa and so much more!"

Saint Mary’s is a parish community of 5,200 families covering a large portion of Middletown.

For more than 75 years, Saint Mary's has hosted the famous summer event, the Saint Mary Great Fair, one of the largest church fairs in the state of New Jersey. In recent years, the parish has introduced a Fall Country Fair to compliment the summer fair.

"We are confident the Outdoor Christmas Market will be as successful as both our fairs," said the church.

Christkindlmarkt (literally: Christ Child Market, but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. These markets originated in Germany but are now held in many other countries. The history of Christmas markets goes back to the Late Middle Ages in the German-speaking part of Europe, and in many parts of the former Holy Roman Empire that includes many eastern regions of France.