Germany’s Christmas markets are a huge draw for international tourists, with the country’s major cities hosting some form of “Christkindlmarkt” — a festive market selling Christmas gifts as well as food and drink — from late November to early January.

Officials in Germany have faced a problem with the Covid-19 epidemic for the second straight year. In the face of rising Covid cases, several states had to cancel their Christmas markets.

Others have chosen to keep their doors open and have imposed stricter entry restrictions for visitors. These rules require them to show proof of vaccination or have just recovered from Covid-19. These restrictions are known as “2G rules” as they refer to people who are vaccinated — “geimpft” in German — or recovered, “genesen.”

North Rhine-Westphalia opened Christmas markets, while several German states have closed their Christmas markets entirely this year due to high levels of infection.

Munich, Bavaria’s capital city, hosts Germany’s famous Marienplatz, the Christmas market. On Nov. 16, Munich’s Mayor Dieter Reiter announced that the Munich Christkindlmarkt — which would have taken place from Nov. 22 to Dec. 24 — had been canceled owing to “the tense coronavirus situation.”

Reiter stated that the cancelation would be “bitter” news for Munich residents as well as stall-owners, however “the extremely dire situation in our hospitals along with exponentially increasing infection rates leaves me no choice but to make this decision.”

In explaining the reason for the cancellation, he said “anything else would cause an unjustifiable increase in the risk of infection and would send the wrong signal — especially to all the employees in our hospitals, who are working at their limits. Now it is important to avoid large crowds.

Some opponents of the closing argued that the outdoor market would pose a greater risk to shoppers and visitors than indoor stores. Reiter replied to this criticism by saying: “Some might point out that the Christkindlmarkt has been out in the open air. The Munich Christkindlmarkt at Marienplatz, and all surrounding squares, cannot be secured. This would make it impossible for guests to be controlled and comply with the 2G rules. This is especially true in the pedestrian area, where there are already many people during the pre-Christmas season. Winterzauber is available at Viktualienmarkt. Viktualienmarkt, an open-air market for food that transforms into a Christmas market during the winter months, is known as Viktualienmarkt.

Although the closure of Christmas markets is disappointing for stallholders, officials are stuck between two rocks. Bavaria, which has had a high number of Covid-related cases since the outbreak of the pandemic (after North-Rhine Westphalia), has long been Germany’s Covid hotspot. with around 1.25 million infections reported.