Little Town of Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) continues to welcome Christmas travelers

Since 1741, the little town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania has welcomed travelers to the town named after the place where Christ was born. Settled by a group of Moravians, who are now recognized as the oldest organized Protestant denomination in the world, Bethlehem received its name on Christmas Eve of that year when Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf of Saxony, Germany, visited the new settlement. In a two-room log home that housed both man and beast, the story goes, the Count christened the new community "Bethlehem".

But it wasn’t until almost one hundred years later that the town began to commercialize on its namesake. In 1937, the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce decided to make their town of Bethlehem, whose very name was already so strongly tied to Christmas, the Christmas City for the entire country. And it was on December 7 at a grand ceremony, that Mrs. Marion Brown Grace pulled a large switch to light the new Christmas street lights and a large wooden star beginning a new era for Bethlehem. Today Bethlehem is a Christmas tourist destination with a plethora of holiday activities and purchase opportunities including a Chriskindlmarkt, Follies, pageants, first night celebrations, bus tours and more.

If you plan to go, Christmas City’s website has full details www.christmascity.org
Christmas City also has a tweep: artsquest.

To get there it is noted on the Christmas City website, “If you're travelling with a group of wise men, you can always follow the Star of Bethlehem that sits atop South Mountain.” Or, as they recommend, use the directions found on their web page.

Of course, Bethlehem, PA isn’t the only town in the US that shares this Christmas name. Others can be found in New York, New Hampshire, and Connecticut…and I’m sure that are more tucked away. In fact, most Bethlehems in the states have programs to allow you to mail Christmas Cards postmarked with their name.