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Christmas city: Bethlehem getting lots of national attention this holiday season
January 9th, 2025 | In The News
Written by Bo Koltnow
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – From a giant Christmas tree to the decked-out halls of a historic hotel, there’s not a better Santa scene than Bethlehem.
“It’s so festive, and people are around having a gay time,” said Dodie Hagan, who is visiting from Pittsburgh.
Chriskindlmarkt is currently playing a starring role, in the Hallmark Channel streaming reality show Ready Set Glow. Perhaps a network mea culpa, after the channel’s 2023 movie, Miracle in Bethlehem, PA, that was shot in a Canadian city.
“I’m not anti-Hallmark Channel,” said local filmmaker Danny Roebuck on our Saturday morning show in April.
To correct the Christmas course, Roebuck filmed Saint Nick of Bethlehem in and around the Christmas city to show the importance of a local connection.
“So we really wanted to show the world how beautiful Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley is,” he said.
ArtsQuest Programming Manager Anthony Desanctis says, no matter the actual location, any publicity is good publicity.
“We are kind of a city that, not just the Christmas city, but we kind of wear our history on our sleeves. I mean if you look behind me the SteelStacks are right there,” he said.
The city’s history centered at the corner of Hotel Bethlehem, where a plaque marks the spot.
“Here in the first house that a group of Moravians came together on Christmas Eve in 1741. They decided to name the city Bethlehem,” said Lindsey Jancey of Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites.
She added America’s first Christmas tree was believed to be at the nearby Gemeinhaus but says the moniker of the Christmas city didn’t arrive until 1937.
“Still in the throes of the Great Depression, and this was a great way to elevate and bring some spirit and joy to the community,” Jancay said.
You can watch Ready, Set Glow, on Hallmark + and Saint Nick of Bethlehem is showing at the Frank Banko Alehouse inside ArtsQuest.
Read the article on the WFMZ 69 News website.
