The gorgeous German town where white Christmas dreams come true

Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? Picture this: a beanie pulled down to your eyebrows, gloved hands wrapped around a mug of steaming hot mulled wine, the scent of cinnamon, gingerbread and burning wood fires filling the fresh air, and the faint melodies of Christmas carols echoing along a narrow path among snow-covered huts.

Sounds too good to be true?

In the city of Dresden, in eastern Germany, white Christmas dreams come true.

Here, in the self-proclaimed Christmas capital of Europe, travellers can spend days eating and drinking their way across a myriad of different Christmas markets.

But it is the annual Striezelmarkt that draws millions of Christmas lovers to Dresden every year.

With its nearly 600-year-long tradition, the Christmas market is the oldest in Germany and one of the oldest in the world.

It was first held on the last Monday before Christmas in 1434, with stalls offering meat and food items in the lead-up to Christmas Day festivities.

Today more than 200 stalls, decorated with fairy lights, pine leaves, tinsel and wooden figurines, offer locals and travellers a variety of delicacies, hand-made ornaments, gifts and toys.

Also on offer, of course, mulled wine, spiced red wine - or grape juice for the younger generation - in annually changing collectors' mugs that keep young and old coming back for more.

But the highlight, among varieties of locally made gingerbread and Christmas cookies, is the Striezel, which gave the market its name. A special type of Christmas cake, the Striezel was originally a plain piece of pastry made of water, yeast and flour, baked for the early Christians' period of fasting in the lead-up to Christmas.

Today known as Stollen and made with an improved recipe that includes fruit, cinnamon, milk, butter and sugar - and even sold at major supermarket chains across Australia - the traditional Dresden Christmas cake continues to be oval-shaped, symbolic for baby Jesus wrapped in cloth.

In the shadow of the Church of the Holy Cross, which has stood next to the market site since the 12th century, and was rebuilt in 1792, the Striezelmarkt draws more than 2.5 million people to Dresden each year.

A must-visit Christmas destination, the market is not just famous for its food, but is also popular for its locally handcrafted toys and wood art - including Dresden's Striezel children.

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Across the centuries, the Christmas market was known as a platform for children from poor families to sell their wares in the hope they would make money for their loved ones during the festive season. These kids, known as the children of the Striezelmarkt, hence "Striezel childen", were never meant to be forgotten on Christmas Day, which is why in 1930 the director of the local wood arts school created wooden figurines in their memory.

In 1937, the Striezel children figures won a gold medal at the World Expo in Paris - and to this day they remain one of the most-sold items at the Striezelmarkt; a reminder to everyone to not forget those who are less fortunate at Christmas time.