What better place to spend Christmas Eve than Bethlehem! After a week of visiting with family and friends in the south, we've headed east on our road trip for our eventual return to Nantucket. On Christmas Eve we found ourselves staying overnight in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and took some time earlier on Christmas Day to explore the city and find out more about its history and customs. One of the most interesting aspects of Christmas in Bethlehem is the importance of the "putz," which is basically a miniature of the nativity scene. The tradition dates back to Bethlehem's first settlers--the Moravians--who brought their putz figures with them in the 18th century. The Moravians settled in Pennsylvania after an unsuccessful attempt to establish a Moravian settlement in Georgia (1735-1740). Moravian settlers purchased 500 acres to establish the settlement of Bethlehem in 1741. The historic Hotel Bethlehem and adjacent Main Street shops were bustling with tourists and activity. Travelling along the snow-shoveled streets of Bethlehem provided us a truly memorable Christmas adventure we'll not soon forget.
One of the benefits of being on the road on Christmas Day was listening to some awesome holiday stories on NPR. If you haven't heard these stories, take a minute to hear them at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17488106
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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