O come, all ye frugal Christmas markets scaled back

European Christmas markets and illuminations are scaling back due to the energy crisis and climate breakdown - ditching ice rinks for rollerskating and switching on lights for less time.

- Angelique Chrisafis

Many traditional end-of-year markets and Christmas lights in France and Germany will go dark hours earlier than usual. But local politicians said they must still offer some kind of festive spirit to lift what they called the glum mood amid the war in Ukraine and the rising cost of living.

The western French city of Tours will replace its popular outdoor festive ice rink with rollerskating. Keeping the rink cold enough had cost its private operator €15,000 ($15,370) in electricity bills in 2020, and €7,500 last year after its size was reduced.

"It seemed a bit of an aberration to have an outdoor ice rink when the temperature here at Christmas has been 10C-15C for several years," said Martin Cohen, the deputy mayor in charge of energy and environment. "There seems no sense in keeping ice, whatever the cost, just to maintain a sense of Christmas."

He said that with global heating, towns in France "have to accept that Christmas is no longer the image of snow, ice and big Christmas trees. We'll maintain what we can because we need the magical, festive side of Christmas, but some elements have to evolve."