Bethlehem

Downtown Christmas City

Bethlehem, which got its name on Christmas Eve of 1741, is known to people around the world as the Christmas City and as the place to go for holiday fun. As Christmas approaches, Downtown Bethlehem turns into a winter wonderland with decorated streets, carolers, horse drawn buggies and even a live Advent Calendar with a different merchant coming out of the door at the Goundie House on Main Street every night at 5 p.m. with a “treat” for whoever is waiting at the door. Each shop in Downtown Bethlehem is decorated in ways that complement the Victorian architecture, making it look like a scene right from Dickens’ Christmas Carol. There is a competition among the merchants for the best decorated doors and windows. There are also historically themed Christmas walking tours and all the excitement of the larger celebrations that go on in this remarkable city. Also in Downtown Bethlehem there will be an authentic German Weihnachtsmarkt (translated open-air Christmas market and pronounced vy-nokts-markt) that is located in Bethlehem’s historic downtown shopping district along Main Street. At this market there will be 35 wooden huts that are decorated for the holidays and filled with potential Christmas gifts. There will also be plenty of bratwurst with sauerkraut. There is First Friday on January 6, which is a monthly celebration of arts and culture in the Southside Shopping and Arts District of Bethlehem. And in February there is a celebration by the both downtowns of a Week of Romance. For more information about Downtown Bethlehem events, visit

www.downtownbethlehemassociation.com.