When it comes to traditional holiday images, Germany’s Bavaria is the heartland. In this clip from “Rick Steves' European Christmas,” we savor classic holiday themes: glittering trees, old-time carols, and colorful Christmas markets. | Rick Steves' Europe

To celebrate the season, I’m sharing clips, extras, and behind-the-scenes notes from my one-hour special, “Rick Steves’ European Christmas.” Germany’s grandest Christmas market, in Nürnberg, comes complete with an angelic Christkind dressed in gold, played by a real-life teenage girl. After we filmed her show before an awestruck crowd of German kids, we were invited to a private audience with her. We felt like paparazzi trailing some teenage heartthrob. In this clip of the interview, we learn ho

To celebrate the season, I’m sharing daily clips, extras and behind-the-scenes notes from “Rick Steves’ European Christmas.” In Nürnberg, famous for its best-in-Germany Christmas market, our crew got to film the angelic Christkind. How did a teenage German girl become “the Christ child” of Bavarian children’s Santa Claus dreams? We also learned how Martin Luther, the local reformer, wanted to shift the focus from St. Nicholas back to the Christ child, who somehow has morphed into a sweet teenage