Christmas Carriage In Centre Square ...

“It’s better to light just one little candle than to stumble in the dark, better far that you light just one little candle, all you need’s a tiny spark. If we’d all say a prayer that the world would be free, the wonderful dawn on the new day we’ll see, and if everyone lit just one little candle, what a bright world this would be.”

      ~“One Little Candle”

   ~ recorded by Perry Como, 1952 and the theme song of “The Christophers,” whose motto is, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”

Let the Christmas season begin! A charming horse-drawn carriage makes its way through Centre Square as part of the festivities leading up to the lighting of The Easton Peace Candle November 30, 2019 in Easton, Pennsylvania.

The base of the Peace Candle can be seen at right, and to the left the Easton Municipal Band plays Christmas music to enhance the merry mood, including the bouncy “Christmas in Killarney,” which made me want to dance an Irish jig down Northampton Street, if I knew how!

The Easton Peace Candle is a tower-like structure erected every Christmas season in Easton. The approximately 106-foot tall structure, which resembles a giant candle, is assembled every year over the Soldier’s & Sailor’s Monument, a Civil War memorial in Centre Square. It is typically assembled in mid-November and lighted over Thanksgiving weekend and disassembled in early February each year.

The Peace Candle was first erected in 1951, and has been erected almost every year since then, having been replaced a few times due to damage or disrepair. It is dedicated to the Easton area men and women who have served or are serving in the United States armed forces.

It has been said to be the largest non-wax Christmas candle in the country. Although conceived with the hopes of restoring Easton’s pre-20^th century reputation for elaborate Christmas decorations, city officials also believed a candle would serve as a symbol of peace for all religions and denominations.

The daylong festivities leading up to the evening lighting also included strolling street performers, ice carvers, pictures with Santa, a petting zoo, pony rides, moon bounce, gingerbread houses on display and an array of crafts and yummy treats  available for purchase. The SwingTime Dolls, an all-female vocal group consisting of three of the area’s most accomplished vocalists that shine a new light on the tunes of the American Hit Parade of the 1940s and beyond, also performed, drawing on inspiration from The Andrews Sisters.

The Salvation Army In The Christmas City ...

“There is no reward equal to that of doing the most good to the most people in the most need.”

    ~Evangeline Booth

               ~ 1865-1950

    ~ British theologist and Fourth General of 

            The Salvation Army, 1934-1939,

              the first woman to hold the post.

 Evangeline Booth was the daughter of William and Catherine Booth, who founded The Salvation Army in 1865.

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination. 

It is well known for its Red Kettle Campaign at Christmastime.

The Salvation Army and its mission is prominently displayed to early Christmas shoppers in front of the Moravian Book Shop in historic downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in late November.

Reflections from the street, the American Flag, and “Get Downtown Bethlehem Pennsylvania,” the logo of the Downtown Bethlehem Association, can be seen in the left window.

Bethlehem is known as The Christmas City. On Christmas Eve 1741, in a stable, while a small group of Moravians were singing a hymn with the stanza “Not Jerusalem, Lowly Bethlehem” Count Nicolaus Ludwig Von Zinzendorf christened this little town “Bethlehem.” Since that time Christmas in Bethlehem has been central to the city’s identity. From the first documented decorated Christmas tree in America to the efforts of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce to get Bethlehem nicknamed “Christmas City USA” in 1937, to the current time when both sides of the river boast Christmas markets filled with artisan craft, retail and food vendors, Bethlehem is rife with one Christmas celebration after another.

The Moravian Book Shop is America’s oldest book shop, established in 1745.

Christmas Huts In The City ...

“Silver bells, silver bells

It’s Christmastime in the city …”
               ~“Silver Bells”

     ~composed by Jay Livingston & Ray Evans

                             ~ 1950

Early Christmas shoppers hunt for treasures to place under the Christmas tree at Christmas Huts On Main in historic downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

The charming area was transformed into an authentic German Weihnachtsmarkt, or open-air Christmas market. Vendors set up shop in  Christmas-themed wooden huts brimming with unique gift ideas along Main Street in what is known as The Christmas City.

These Christmas Huts are located in front of Central Moravian Church, founded in 1742. The buildings to the right are part of the South Campus of Moravian College, my alma mater, also founded in 1742.

Moravian Stars are hung at the top of the huts. The Moravian Star (German: Herrnhuter Stern) is an illuminated Advent, Christmas or Epiphany decoration popular in Germany and in places in America and Europe where there are Moravian congregations. The stars take their English name from the Moravian Church originating in Moravia. In Germany, they are known as Herrnhut stars, named after the Moravian Mother Community in Saxony, Germany, where they were first commercially produced.

On Christmas Eve 1741, in a stable, while a small group of Moravians were singing a hymn with the stanza “Not Jerusalem, Lowly Bethlehem” Count Nicolaus Ludwig Von Zinzendorf christened this little town “Bethlehem.” Since that time Christmas in Bethlehem has been central to the city’s identity. From the first documented decorated Christmas tree in America to the efforts of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce to get Bethlehem nicknamed “Christmas City USA” in 1937, to the current time when both sides of the river boast Christmas markets filled with artisan craft, retail and food vendors, Bethlehem is rife with one Christmas celebration after another.