O Little Town of Bethlehem (in Pennsylvania)

Living on a limited budget? Looking for a fun and interesting day trip?

How about The Christmas City? Bethlehem, Pa.

Tourists travel from all corners of the world to see this quaint historic city.

Bethlehem offers entertainment for all seasons including summer's Musikfest and Blueberry Festival and autumn's Celtic Classic. But what better time to visit Pennsylvania's city officially declared "Christmas City of the United States" in 1937 than during the winter holiday season?

While many around the world sing the popular Christmas Hymn, " 'O Little Town of Bethlehem", you can be experiencing it first hand.

Bethlehem was founded more than 250 years ago by a Protestant group of settlers called the Moravians. Christmas Eve, 1741, members sang a hymn with the words, " Not Jerusalem, lowly Bethlehem, 'Twas that gave us Christ to save us..." The words moved Moravian founder Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzindorf, and that night the city was christened, "Bethlehem."

A day touring Bethlehem may start with an expresso or cappuccino with a breakfast sandwhich served by Lehigh University students at Johnny's Bagels and Deli on the corner of Market and Main Steets.

Tickets for guided tours are purchased at the Visitor's Center on Main St. There you can also get information about current events and self-guided tours. You can even book an old fashioned horse and carriage ride.

Most tours are $6 with no event more than $10. Self-guided tours are on a donation basis.

Walking and bus tours are led by men and women in authentic Moravian garb from 1740. Tourists can learn Bethlehem's story from colonial times to the present.

A typical December tour may begin with the chiming of the authentic colonial reproduction of the Bradford clock where a tour guide meets anxious tourists in front of the Goundie House bundled up as if they were going caroling. Christmas Carols fill the air and filter down Main Street from speakers carefully spaced from tree to tree. Flurries begin as the guide leads the way joking that he turned on the snow and music for the holiday affect.