It’ll begin to look a lot like Christmas in Bethlehem this year even before Thanksgiving.
The city’s annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19. It’s a week early from the traditional Black Friday event.
Angie DelGrosso, senior vice president of The Bethlehem Chamber at the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, said the move was in effort to help bring in more foot traffic. The events of Christkindlmarkt, Christmas City Village and Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites all begin that same week.
“It didn’t make sense to us to have the tree lighting on Black Friday -- a week later -- as that’s when all lights turn on city-wide,” DelGrosso said. “We want to have a cohesive kickoff to the Christmas season with everything beginning the same weeks with all the lights on.”
Last year, the Christmas tree lighting went virtual, also a week earlier from the Black Friday tradition, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Business and organizations were pleased in 2020 with the earlier launch to the holiday season in an effort to boost business during a difficult financial year, DelGrosso said.
Workers typically begin days before stringing upward of 15,000 lights to illuminate the tree in the Christmas City. The crew last year expected to complete the lights within five days.
Downtown Bethlehem Association Manager Tammy Wendling praised the decision, calling the earlier tree lighting a bonus for the business community.
“We know that with the national supply chain crisis, more people are shopping early and shopping local,” Wendling told lehighvalleylive.com. “We also know that in the Bethlehem community, the tree lighting typically kicks off the holiday season. With that event being earlier this year, downtown Bethlehem businesses will be able to lean into what’s happening nationally and provide much needed and valuable gift purchasing options with plenty of time to spare.”
Nicole Harrell, director of communications at ArtsQuest, said the coordinated kickoff to the holiday season hopefully will draw more visitors to Christkindlmarkt, which kicks off Friday, Nov. 19 and runs five weekends through Sunday, Dec. 19.
“The reopening of Christkindlmarkt is an important part of the economy during the holiday season in the Christmas City and surrounding region,” said Kassie Hilgert, president & CEO of ArtsQuest. “Christkindlmarkt is not only a lifeline for the crafters and vendors, but it is a tradition for families in the Lehigh Valley and visitors from across the world. We are proud to play a role in the rich history of the City of Bethlehem.”
Missy Hartney, the SouthSide’s downtown volunteer, said another tree also with be lit on the Southside for Small Business Saturday on Nov. 27. The event begins at 4 p.m. with a performance from Touchstone Theatre followed by The Swingtime Dolls. The tree lighting is expected to kick-off at 4:30 p.m. and The Swingtime Dolls will perform until 5:30 p.m.
Brick-and-mortar sites are expected to gain a boost this holiday season due to the supply-chain crisis and shoppers wanting to get out of the house after last year’s quarantine, business experts predict. Retail analysts from Bain, Deloitte and Mastercard all forecast sales rising at least 7% over last year.
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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
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