‘Tis the season to be merry, but there are some American towns and cities that embody the spirit of Christmas 365 days a year.
With names that reflect biblical places, figures from holiday history and, in some cases, sheer seasonal coincidence, these towns and villages have become magnets for tourists drawn to their Christmas celebrations and festive markets.
Stretching from the sunny climes of Christmas, Florida to the suitably icy North Pole, Alaska – and with a Dasher and Rudolph in between – these towns and villages attract fans who flock to them for everything from a timely Christmas card stamp to a visit with live performances. reindeer (the terrestrial kind).
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
It may be 6,000 miles from the birthplace of Jesus Christ with which it shares a name, but the Pennsylvania town of Bethlehem boasts of being the first in the US to decorate a Christmas tree.
Originally a Moravian settlement, the city was known for decades as the home of the mighty Bethlehem Steel Mill before the plant closed in 2003.
The community was baptized on Christmas Eve 1741 by Bishop Nicolaus Zinzendorf, who said: “Brethren, what more fittingly can we call our new home than to name it in honor of the spot where the event we are now commemorating took place.”
Six years later, the city decorated its first tree and in 1937, during the Great Depression, the city adopted the nickname Christmas City USA and erected a large star at the top of the city’s South Mountain.
During the holidays, Bethlehem welcomes visitors with a winter wonderland, including a Christkindlmarkt, carriage rides and a cocktail trail
During the holidays, the city’s 75,781 residents welcome visitors with a winter wonderland, including a Christkindlmarkt, horse-drawn carriage rides, a cocktail trail, Christmas City Village, Santa’s House, a Live Advent Calendar and Storytime with Santa.
Nazareth, PA
Just ten miles north of Bethlehem lies another Moravian settlement, named after a city in the Bible, this time the place where Jesus spent his youth.
Emmaus and Egypt are nearby.
The community and its 6,000 residents were featured at Mark Knopfler’s Speedway in Nazareth, a tribute to Indycar racing on his solo album Sailing to Philadelphia.
The city really comes into its own at Christmas with the Nazareth Area Chamber Elf Trail. Participants hunt for elves in shops and collect stamps in their passbook to win a prize.
Christmas, Florida
A short drive east of sunny Orlando, Florida, is the city of Christmas.
It was built on December 25, 1837, during the Second Seminole War, by 2,000 American soldiers and volunteers from Alabama. The city itself takes its name from the Fort Christmas that the army built.
Santa Claus visits Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Bethlehem is just a short drive away
The community comes into its own during the Christmas season with the Nazareth Area Chamber Elf Trail
Best known for its post office, which opened in 1892, Christmas, Florida is a mecca for people who want a “Christmas stamp” on their Christmas cards
A replica of the fort now stands in the city’s historic park, as well as a traditional Florida “Cracker” house, eight pioneer homes, a schoolhouse, a lunchroom and a sugar cane mill.
But Christmas is better known for its post office, which opened in 1892, and is a mecca for people who want a ‘Christmas stamp’ on their Christmas cards.
The town also featured in John Green’s 2008 novel Paper Towns, in which three high school students go on a mission to track down a missing friend. They search an abandoned mini-mall at Christmas and find vital clues to her case.
North Pole, Alaska
The small Alaskan town is known for celebrating Christmas 365 days a year.
It was originally established in 1944 and was named after a property developer who thought there would be a market for products made in the North Pole.
Although the name stuck, a toy factory never emerged.
It was in 1952 that Conrad Miller put the city with 2,700 inhabitants on the map. He established a trading post at the North Pole and called it Santa Claus House.
Today it is the North Pole’s most famous attraction, with aisles full of toys and ornaments. There’s also a Santa workshop, a 50-foot Christmas sculpture, Santa’s sleigh and an Antler Academy with live reindeer.
Christmas decorations can be found all year round on city streets such as Santa Claus Lane, Kris Kringle Drive and Mistletoe Lane.
More than 400,000 letters arrive at the North Pole Post Office each year, addressed to Santa Claus, and a team of volunteers answers them all.
The famous Christmas post office around 1955
The original Santa Claus House, the North Pole’s best attraction. The village has Christmas decorations all year round
Rudolf, Wisconsin
Although actually named after a settler named Frederick Rudolph Hecox, Rudolph has long become synonymous with Santa’s red-nosed reindeer.
“Welcome to Rudolph” signs feature his red nose and greet visitors upon arrival.
The village hosts an annual Rudolph Country Christmas event with a festive market, a reindeer run, horse and carriage rides, visits to Santa and his reindeer, and a pop-up Christmas bar.
And in a special tribute to “the most famous reindeer of them all,” the post office sells reindeer stamps and has a special postmark: “Rudolph Wisconsin, Home of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” which can be printed on visitors’ outgoing mail. mail.
Santa, Arizona
Once a popular year-round destination in the Mojave Desert, Santa Claus, Arizona, has now become a ghost town, with barely an echo of the past.
It was in 1937 that real estate agent Nina Talbot decided to open a Santa Claus resort.
It became a popular tourist attraction with its Cinderella’s Doll House and the Santa Claus Inn, which served specialties such as Chicken à la North Pole and Rum Pie à la Kris Kringle.
The post office sells reindeer stamps and has a special reindeer stamp, “Rudolph Wisconsin, Home of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” that can be printed on outgoing mail.
“Welcome to Rudolph” signs feature his red nose and greet visitors upon arrival
The original settlement of Rudolph, Wisconsin, pictured in the early 20th century.
Actress Jane Russell once hosted a dinner party at Santa Claus’ Christmas Tree Inn. Nowadays the glory years are long gone.
The Christmas Tree Inn in the 1950s, when the town experienced a brief resurgence in popularity.
Santa Claus became a popular tourist attraction, including a Cinderella dollhouse
However, Talbot sold her interest in the town in 1949, and the town’s popularity gradually declined.
It had a brief hiatus in the 1950s after the inn – renamed The Christmas Tree Inn – received positive reviews from restaurant critic Duncan Hines and even attracted celebrities such as actress Jane Russell, who hosted a dinner party there.
Dasher, Georgia
Contrary to expectations, the idyllic town of Dasher, located in the foothills of the Appalachians in Georgia, was not named after Santa’s reindeer, but after the Daescher family, who settled on the land in the 19th century.
Yet it celebrates Christmas in style with its Christmas in the Park.
Visitors can attend the tree lighting ceremony, take a selfie with Santa and watch a performance of How the Grinch Stole Christmas under the stars in Dasher Park.
Holly Springs, Mississippi
Nestled in the rolling hills of northern Mississippi, Holly Springs was originally named Suavatooky by the Chickasaw Indians, but renamed by European Americans in 1836 after its many trees and springs.
The city has an annual Christmas Parade and Historic Homes tour, where visitors to Holly Springs can visit seven homes, three churches and its museums, all decorated for the holidays.
Snowflake, Arizona
Despite the name of the season, the town of Snowflake – a three-hour drive from Phoenix – is not named after winter weather.
Snow is relatively rare in this part of Arizona.
Instead, the name commemorates Mormon leaders Erastus Snow and William Jordan Flake, who founded the settlement in 1878.
Nevertheless, the 5,000 residents get into the holiday spirit with a city lighting ceremony, a twelve-day Christmas festival and a Christmas market. Christmas concert and live nativity scene.