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.