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Top 10
Christmas
VaCations
Unique ways to celebrate the
holiday season around the world
by craig moy
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1 | NUREMBERG,
GERMANY 2 | ORLANDO,
FLORIDA 3 | ST. & NEVIS KITTS 4 | WINNIPEG,
MANITOBA 5 | ROME,
ITALY
Very few yuletide
traditions are more,
well, traditional than
German Christmas
markets, where
purveyors of mulled
wine and wooden toys
have proffered winter
cheer for hundreds of
years. Nuremberg’s
market is arguably
the most popular in
Bavaria, dating back
to 1628. Today, it
attracts millions with
its gothic backdrop
and deliciously famous
gingerbread. The Magic Kingdom
gets way more magical
every December when
Walt Disney World
Resort is decked out
for Mickey’s Very
Merry Christmas Party.
Stage shows and
festive illuminations
fill the sky four nights
a week. And over at
Epcot, families can
revel in seasonal food,
music and games
from around the
world, all capped by
a spectacular
fireworks display. December is truly
hot, hot, hot in
St. Kitts and Nevis.
The National Carnival
runs into the New
Year and boasts all
manner of soca and
calypso fun. Christmas
in St. Kitts’ capital,
Basseterre, gives way
to the frenetic J’ouvert
parade (Dec. 26)
and the Calypso
Monarch competition
(Dec. 29), whose
winners become
instant heroes in the
island nation. A winter wonderland
is just a car ride
away as the Red
River Ex glows with
more than one million
twinkling lights. This
year’s drive-through
illumination (Nov. 30
to Jan. 5) features
26 themed displays
laid out along a
2.5-kilometre route.
Find some seasonal
tunes on the radio
and take in the
sparkling show from
the comfort of your
motorized sleigh. Mediterranean
cities like Rome are
intriguing wintertime
destinations—after
the tourist rush,
when seasonal
temperatures in the
Italian capital can
still reach the balmy
mid-teens. Christmas
in the largely Catholic
nation means lots of
devotional pageantry,
highlighted by huge
Christmas Eve masses
at St. Peter’s Basilica
and the 2,000-year-
old Pantheon.
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Winter 2018
cAA MAnitOBA
KUzNETSoVA/AlAMY
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