In Wezup you could walk over heads in the past three days. It was time again for the annual Christmas market, which the village has been organizing since 1990. Christmas markets are becoming increasingly popular in Drenthe. Not only are more and more of these types of markets being organized, but they are also attracting more and more visitors. The organization in Wezup also notices this, where the market is visited every year by thousands of people from home and abroad.
What is the secret of the market? “Just say so,” laughs Loes Heeling from the organization. “It is quite a unique market, because it does not just consist of a few stalls. The houses and barns in the village function as a stand. So you really visit people’s homes. That makes it accessible,” says Heeling.
Visitors Henk and Ineke can confirm that. This is the fifth year in a row that they travel an hour to visit the Christmas market. “I really have a soft spot for these kinds of Drenthe villages,” says Ineke. Her husband nods: “The village is great and it’s so nice that everything is in barns. At least when it rains you stay dry.” They are surprised that people from all over the world visit the market. “We sometimes hear German on the market. When I was handing out maps on Friday evening, I was addressed in English, but also in German.”
Leonie Wiers from Marketing Drenthe notices that the Christmas markets in Drenthe are becoming an increasing hype. But she wonders whether the Drenthe Christmas markets can become as big a household name as those in Germany. “Here the focus is on conviviality, on the local and regional. I think this setting will never get the chance to become as big as a German Christmas market. Especially if you look at the large squares and the many buses full of tourists that go there “I don’t think we are prepared for that in Drenthe.”
Henk and Ineke don’t see that happening anytime soon either. “We also go to Germany sometimes, but there you only have food stalls from front to back. That doesn’t suit Christmas at all, does it?” laughs Ineke.
The market in Wezup goes further than just ‘food joints’. Many homemade products are sold: from Christmas baubles to chocolate and from socks to knee-highs. Bart, who is originally from Gieten but now lives in Hengelo, says: “The market really gives a village feeling. We have only had three stalls and have already bought two things. So we are off to a good start.”
Henk and Ineke have also already received the loot. “A pair of funny Norwegian socks for Henk, a little gnome and of course kneelers. We are having a great time.”