Mennonite woman selling fruit juice at St. Jacobs Christmas Market

OLD ORDER MENNONITES, A POWERFUL PRESENCE IN ONTARIO'S ST. JACOBS CHRISTMAS MARKET

As the festive season rolls in with snow laden skies and the gentle drifting of snow flakes on a crisp winter’s morning, the muffled clip clop of horses hoofs on powder heralds the arrival of the Old Order Mennonites at St. Jacobs Christmas market in Ontario, Canada.

A black buggy, the first in a retinue of buggies drawn by sprightly hi-stepping horses, is the traditional conveyance for black-bonneted Mennonite women, their husbands and children. On their way to the market no-nonsense parents sit upfront, and small girls, arrayed like flowers in a row, sit demurely in the buggy’s sparse interior.

For those unfamiliar with a religious order that has lived and farmed for centuries in Canada’s Waterloo County, their arrival appears as a clip from an old time movie.

Laden with freshly baked bread, cookies, pies, apple butter and sweet maple syrup, Mennonite wives move briskly to their individual booths. Their succulent wares are five star items at the Christmas market.

Horses are securely tethered to hitching posts. Children; mischievous boys and blonde girls with neat braids, are hustled into the warm confines of the great market barn. Before long, home made treats: pickled eggs, pickled cauliflower and pickled garlic in a glorious colorful assortment are stacked neatly in a wall of gleaming bottles. The ladies are ready to sell.

Images copyright Anne Gordon

Posted by Anne Gordon on Thursday, 23rd December, 2010