For those that have lived in the Historic District for the holiday season, you are aware that residents decorate their homes with candles in the window, and outside decorations that are enhanced with white lights.
For those new to the neighborhood, this tradition of candles in the window goes back to a cold Christmas Eve in 1741 – the night Bethlehem was named – when a group of early Moravian settlers gathered together in a small log house. They placed symbolic white candles in each window to guide the footsteps of the infant Jesus, a custom the settlers brought with them from Saxony.
As residents of the Historic District you are encouraged to observe this longstanding tradition to guide and welcome family, friends, and visitors to Historic Bethlehem as we celebrate this holiday season.
The period of illumination begins at dusk on the first Sunday following Thanksgiving, November 26th.
Mary Lou Mayberry
