Page 26 - Indulge December/January 2015
P. 26
A owntown Bethlehem is a magical destination any time of year, but especially
BETHLEHEM so during the holiday season. It’s a Dickensian mix of glowing streetlights,
bricks and cobblestone, sparkling decorations and horse-drawn carriages.
By Patrick O’Donnell Bethlehem is, after all, billed as The Christmas City — and has been since
1937, when the chamber of commerce initiated a nationwide letter-writing
CHRISTMAS campaign to support the push.
The city seems to have outdone itself every year since in an effort to live
Even Scrooge wouldn’t pass up up to its nickname. There is so much to do and see, even Ebenezer Scrooge
this bright and bountiful bash himself would have had a hard time not getting into the holiday spirit.
There are lighted trees, of course — more than 800 of them — all over
the city. Downtown, they twinkle and glow in white, while color is king in the
South Side Arts District.
The biggest of the bunch — the city’s Christmas tree — stands in Payrow
Plaza, where the annual lighting ceremony is traditionally held on Black Friday.
Festivities include carols, performances and a visit from Santa.
You won’t want to miss the Historic Bethlehem Partnership’s “Trees of Christmas
Past” feature. There are traditional Moravian trees, which weren’t true trees at all,
but six-tiered wooden pyramids festooned with items like candles, fresh greens
and apples. The Victorian age is also represented, as are the 1920s, ’30s, ’40s
and more. Visitors can vote for their favorites from selections at the 1810 Goundie
House, 505 Main St.; the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, 427 N. New St.,
Bethlehem; the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem, 66 W. Church St.; and at the
1744 Single Sisters’ House, 50 W. Church St.
One for you, Serving Memories,
Two for me
One Scoop At a Time
& Ice Cream for
the both of us!
437 Main St., Historic Downtown Bethlehem • 610.849.4993 • hotelbethlehem.com
BETHLEHEM so during the holiday season. It’s a Dickensian mix of glowing streetlights,
bricks and cobblestone, sparkling decorations and horse-drawn carriages.
By Patrick O’Donnell Bethlehem is, after all, billed as The Christmas City — and has been since
1937, when the chamber of commerce initiated a nationwide letter-writing
CHRISTMAS campaign to support the push.
The city seems to have outdone itself every year since in an effort to live
Even Scrooge wouldn’t pass up up to its nickname. There is so much to do and see, even Ebenezer Scrooge
this bright and bountiful bash himself would have had a hard time not getting into the holiday spirit.
There are lighted trees, of course — more than 800 of them — all over
the city. Downtown, they twinkle and glow in white, while color is king in the
South Side Arts District.
The biggest of the bunch — the city’s Christmas tree — stands in Payrow
Plaza, where the annual lighting ceremony is traditionally held on Black Friday.
Festivities include carols, performances and a visit from Santa.
You won’t want to miss the Historic Bethlehem Partnership’s “Trees of Christmas
Past” feature. There are traditional Moravian trees, which weren’t true trees at all,
but six-tiered wooden pyramids festooned with items like candles, fresh greens
and apples. The Victorian age is also represented, as are the 1920s, ’30s, ’40s
and more. Visitors can vote for their favorites from selections at the 1810 Goundie
House, 505 Main St.; the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, 427 N. New St.,
Bethlehem; the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem, 66 W. Church St.; and at the
1744 Single Sisters’ House, 50 W. Church St.
One for you, Serving Memories,
Two for me
One Scoop At a Time
& Ice Cream for
the both of us!
437 Main St., Historic Downtown Bethlehem • 610.849.4993 • hotelbethlehem.com
