Celebrations All Year Long
Bethlehem The Christmas City is situated in eastern Pennsylvania right in the middle of the Lehigh Valley in Bethlehem. Moravian settlers in similar surroundings to the Nativity stable, named Bethlehem the Christmas City, on Christmas Eve, 1741. Join me as we tour an area of artists, festivals, creativity, and a glorious history dating back to the 1700s!
Look up at The Star of Bethlehem shining from atop South Mountain over the entire city! You can actually go up the mountain to see the colossal Star! From Thanksgiving until the Feast of the Three Kings, the Star is lit and can be seen throughout the city. Festivities are not only in December, but year-round!
Bethlehem is a diverse city with various cultures that blend beautifully! Immigrants, seeking religious freedom, settled in the area and congregated in communities based on their religion. The area divided by the Lehigh River is the division line for the two major groups, Moravians (Protestants) and Catholics.
Christmas City, A Multi-Cultural City
The German traditions in both groups are still alive and flourishing with minor religious differences! Later, as new immigrants arrived from other countries, they adopted the custom and settled together in their own ethnic communities.
However, as time passed, multiple friendships formed and we began sharing meals and exchanging recipes. We evolved into a population that took part in each others ethnic or religious celebrations. When it happened, I do not know, but it became commonplace to use ethnic phrases to describe certain activities. We identified where we were going by identifying the nationality as part of the place. For example, “We are going to a wedding at the Irish Church on Saturday.” “Or let’s go to the German Polka Party at the Hungarian Club.”
We bought homemade perogies from the Slovaks once a month. The most amazing thing of all was when the League of Nations gathered at one of the Church halls to make strudels, Kifels and Nut Rolls for a Fundraiser. Wow! The Germans claim the recipes, but the Irish, Italians and Spanish became addicted to them too. Once they were hooked on them, sales really picked up! I share those recipes on my site here. FIND THEM HERE.
Irish, German, Italian, Slovak, Portuguese, Spanish and Czechs!…”We are going to a wedding at the Irish Church on Saturday,” is how we identified our events. You can get some of the ethnic recipes of Bethlehem by clicking at the bottom of this page.
Welcome to Bethlehem, the Christmas City!
On the Southside of the city there is now the Southside Arts District. The Steel Stacks arts and cultural campus and the Wind Creek Casino Resort. All sit on the site which was the Bethlehem Steel Plant. The Furnace Stacks are still there because the old and the new were incorporated as the city changed from a Steel Making city into an attraction for tourists. You can also enjoy the Greenway walking park or take the kids to the Banana Factory.
The Historic Moravian District has a history going back to the 1700s and is a National Historic Landmark! It is by far a most interesting area. You can observe a marvelous collection of German Colonial architecture on the north side of Bethlehem! Adding to all the sites and festivities of The Christmas City are world class restaurants and shopping experiences never before experienced! There is always much more!!
Do not miss the Moravian Nativity tour. It is as close to the biblical record as one can imagine.
Christkindlmarkt
Christkindlmarkt is an event unlike any other! Talk about a family that lights up your Christmas Spirit!! Travel & Leisure called this the best holiday markets in the U.S. and recognized it as such twice!
Christkindlmarkt: Among the handmade custom items of local craftsmen are cutting boards, bowls, engraved wood pictures, snowmen and coasters. From Ireland and Scotland there is knitwear, Celtic jewelry and the local Star of Bethlehem replica.
Some of the artwork you will find here is done by more than 50 of our nation’s finest artisans! Sounds of jolly old St. Nick’s hearty laughing and live Christmas songs tingle through the air!
You discover the handmade, one-of-a-kind nutcrackers, Kathe Wohlfahrt beautiful handmade ornaments and other super collectibles from Germany. You can even cook with St. Nick!
For more Information before planning your trip, please call the Visitor Center at 610-691-6055
Growing Up In the Christmas City of Bethlehem
As a child growing up in Bethlehem, The Christmas City and all its traditions, the city holds my heart captive with fondness and memories. I visit often and my heart leaps with joy as I arrive! Nothing will ever make me feel like I do in my own hometown! No matter how big the city grew, it was always “the little town of Bethlehem”! Neighbors were neighbors regardless if they lived next door or across town! On walks anywhere in the city, you always met many people you knew and conversations dominated your time.
My big brother (10 years my senior) told me our town had an undercover FBI. They knew everywhere we went and everything we did. We never went for a walk, in an elevator, church or store without someone knowing us. As kids, our greeting, “You must be Barbara’s daughter” “or Willey’s” meant we never got away with any mischief. We were too easily identified! The comment, you’re an Ortwein, a Murphy, a Ripper, or a Brugger was commonplace for any of us, kids! (and if we did commit any mischief, that news hit home before we did) and look out!!! I really believed my brother about the FBI!!
Our Family Story In Bethlehem
My father died when I was four! Mother was a young widow of 8 children! I mean 7. My youngest brother was born the month after my Father passed. Mom’s life was tough, but so was she!! She never let up in forming us to be tough, respectable and kind! Dare I say she succeeded big-time? I believe my Mother was an Army Sergeant in another life! She was a cute 4 foot 11 inches of organization, discipline, tough love and lots of laughter! She was loved and admired by all who knew her! Neighbors would use her as an example in their conversations with others. Mama was our rock, our Mentor and after we grew up, our Friend!
Mom worked in a tie factory to support us; kept an immaculate and orderly home and I think invented housekeeping. She sewed for others and found time to make all five of the girls’ clothes too. Fabric was cheap in those days so she saved a lot by making our clothes. Our ruffles, buttons, bows, lace, ribbons and rickrack made us look quite prominent, in spite of our poverty!
After sewing, Mom spent evenings crocheting lace around handkerchiefs to match five girls’ dresses! Oh, and even crocheted lace around our panties for more frills! Of course, Mom being who she was, loved liquid starch, so that lace was dipped in the starch. Did you ever wear panties with scratchy lace on the legs? Yuck, I can still feel the red scratch marks!! We were always in a dress. No such thing as pants or jeans for girls in the 30s and 40s. The money she saved sewing allowed her enough to buy the boys clothes and treats.
Mama’s Carbon Copies
The two oldest girls were carbon copies of Mama and ran the home when she worked. When the two oldest of the 8 married, they also lived at home with their spouses and did not escape my sister Catherine’s list of chores! Everyone had a job to do and a part to play in the scheme of things. Catherine was the epitome of order and structure. She definitely took her role at home seriously.
We feared my sister Catherine much more than we ever feared Mom! She acted like a Nun long before she ever entered the convent. Catherine celebrated 50 years in the convent shortly before she went to her eternal reward! Truthfully, I think she was born a Nun! She always acted like a nun even when she was in school! In summary, we were a happy, well functioning family and we knew how to have fun together! (albeit always according to Catherine’s rules)
Amazing Ethnic Recipes HERE with a CLICK!
FRIENDS, FOODS AND CULTURES AND RECIPES
TRADITIONAL HOLIDAY RECIPES FROM MY FAMILY HERE
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