Merry Christmas! To celebrate the season, I’m sharing clips, extras and behind-the-scenes notes from Rick Steves’ European Christmas.

In Nürnberg, famous for its best-in-Germany Christmas market, our Rick Steves’ European Christmas 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 girl. After the Christkind’s show before an awestruck crowd of German kids, we were invited to film a private audience with her. We felt like paparazzi trailing some teenage heartthrob.

You can watch the full hour-long Rick Steves’ European Christmas for free anytime on our website.