Christmas Peace 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! The Easton Peace Candle towers above the festive Easton Winter Village in Centre Square November 30, 2024 in historic Easton, Pennsylvania. A charming horse-drawn carriage circles through Centre Square, which is festooned with cozy wooden huts that beckon shoppers to stop by as Old Glory waves in the wind.

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.

The first candle lasted until 1968, the second candle from 1969 to 1989, and the current candle was built in 1990.

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.

Just across the Delaware River from historic Phillipsburg, New Jersey, Easton, a Delaware River Town, was founded in 1752 and is located at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers.