Traditional Christmas markets are opening across Germany amid heightened security, almost a year after a terrorist attack on a Berlin Christmas market killed 12, AP said. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere called on Germans Monday not to stay away out of fear, saying “Christmas markets are part of our life and culture.” He added that “the terror threat is simply very high. Anytime. Anywhere.” The Berlin Christmas market, where a Tunisian attacker rammed a truck into visitors on December 19, is to open Monday night with a candlelight ceremony. Like most Christmas markets in Germany, it has been fortified with concrete blocks.