Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: the town that took its name from Christmas Eve

By Isla Quinn

Trombones on a cold street. White lights on one side of the river, colored lights on the other. A market built on the German pattern, a few steps from the iron-gray stacks of a closed steel plant. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, sells its December as a small town sells almost nothing else.

How it got the name

Three sources give the same founding story. The federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation says Moravian settlers came to Bethlehem in 1741. Arlington Magazine, a regional magazine, says the settlement was founded that year as a missionary settlement and that the name honors a Christmas Eve “love feast” organized by Count Zinzendorf. Discover Lehigh Valley, the area’s tourism board, says the town was named Bethlehem on Christmas Eve in 1741.

The federal page adds that the Moravians belonged to the Unity of the Brethren, founded in 1457, whose founders came from Moravia and Bohemia, in today’s Czech Republic. By 1747, it says, 36 trades and industries were shipping goods from Bethlehem to the colonies. That is a lot of workshops for a settlement six years old.

What the town calls itself

The tourism board says Bethlehem has held the title “Christmas City USA” since 1937. Arlington Magazine says the town earned the nickname through its holiday tourism and notes that the article does not explain where the nickname started. We take the tourism board’s date as the town’s own account and leave the origin open.

The federal page says more than 100,000 visitors come each year between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. It is a round number, so treat it as a rough scale.

The market and the lights

Christkindlmarkt is an open-air market modeled on German markets, according to the federal page. The tourism board lists it as a Thursday-through-Sunday market in the weeks before Christmas, with traditional artisans. The schedule changes every year, so check the current dates on the official Discover Lehigh Valley holiday page.

The tourism board also lists:

A Christmas City Village of outdoor vendor huts along Main Street, inspired by German Christmas markets.
\- A Live Advent Calendar, held nightly in the run-up to Christmas, which the page says may be the only one of its kind in the country.
A night bus tour that explains why the North Side uses white lights and the SouthSide uses colored lights.
Trombone choirs on Main Street, which the board links to the city’s Moravian heritage.
The Moravian Book Shop, described as the oldest continually operating bookstore in the country.

Arlington Magazine adds a tree tour of decorated trees and carriage rides.

Old buildings, in two spellings

The federal page lists the 1758 Sun Tavern among the landmarks of the historic district. Arlington Magazine calls the same year’s building the Sun Inn and says it opened in 1758. Both agree on 1758. They disagree on the name, and we cannot tell from these pages which is current.

The federal page also names the Historic Bethlehem Industrial Area, with an 1761 tannery, an 1762 waterworks and an 1869 mill. Arlington Magazine says the first municipal water system was built in 1754 and that the riverside area is a National Historic Landmark District.

Steel, then stacks

The federal page says steel production grew in the late 1800s and that Irish, Slovak, Hungarian, Ukrainian and Polish workers settled in South Bethlehem. Arlington Magazine says Bethlehem Steel produced steel from 1905 to 1995, when its blast furnaces were decommissioned, and that the site is now SteelStacks, a cultural and historic center. The Hoover-Mason Trestle there is a raised walkway about 40 feet high that once carried raw materials by rail to the plant.

Dates in order

1457: the Unity of the Brethren is founded, according to the federal page.
1741: Moravian settlers found Bethlehem; the name is tied to Christmas Eve, according to all three sources.
1754: first municipal water system, according to Arlington Magazine.
1758: the Sun Tavern or Sun Inn, depending on the source.
1905 to 1995: Bethlehem Steel produces steel, according to Arlington Magazine.
1937: the “Christmas City USA” title, according to the tourism board.

Side by side

The sources agree on 1741 and on the Christmas Eve naming. They differ on the name of the 1758 building.

What kind of sources these are

A federal heritage agency’s community page, a regional magazine and a regional tourism board. The tourism board promotes the town.

What we left out

Population, prices, parking, hours, and the religious history of the Moravian Church beyond the founding date. We also left out the magazine’s award mentions and vendor list.

Quick answers

Why is Bethlehem, Pennsylvania called Christmas City? According to the tourism board, it has held the title “Christmas City USA” since 1937, and the town was named Bethlehem on Christmas Eve in 1741. The magazine says the nickname’s origin is not explained.

When does the Christkindlmarkt run? The tourism board lists it on Thursdays through Sundays in the weeks before Christmas. Dates change each year, so check the official schedule.

What was Bethlehem Steel’s site turned into? According to Arlington Magazine, the former plant is now SteelStacks, a cultural and historic center, with a raised walkway along the old rail trestle.

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Roam first. Shop later.

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