BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Regulars of Main Street in Bethlehem know the red neon sign on the Hotel Bethlehem rooftop.
On Christmas Eve, however, it undergoes a change. Staff turn off the word “Hotel” so that only the word “Bethlehem” glows.
That’s the plan again this year, according to Bruce Haines, managing partner of Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
“This transforms the sign from an advertisement to a reminder of our community to focus on one another and the true spirit of the season,” Haines said.
The word “Hotel” will remain dark Sunday and through Christmas night.
The tradition goes back decades, possibly as early as the 1950s. A photo provided by hotel management shows the halfway illuminated sign and 1950s-era cars parked on Main Street.
Exactly when the tradition stopped isn’t certain. Former employees have told Haines they believe it fell out of practice around the late 1970s.
In 2018, Bethlehem resident Debbie Helms, who worked at the hotel years ago, told Haines about the old custom and he brought it back.
“I just thought it was a great way to honor Bethlehem’s heritage and celebrate our history,” he said.
The 101-year-old hotel has a history rich in ups and downs. It was revived when Haines and partners purchased it in the late 1990s and spearheaded an effort to return it to the grandeur of its heyday in the 1920s and ‘30s.
Earlier this year, the building at 437 Main St. for the third-straight year won a USA Today poll declaring it the best historic hotel in America.
“I just thought it was a great way to honor Bethlehem’s heritage and celebrate our history.”Bruce Haines, Historic Hotel Bethlehem managing partner
Across from Central Moravian Church and the original Moravian settlement that led to the city’s founding, the hotel is near the site of Bethlehem’s first house. That’s where on Christmas Eve in 1741, Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf and other Moravian settlers named Bethlehem in homage to the place where Jesus was born.
Said Haines: “By illuminating the word ‘Bethlehem,’ we’re truly focusing on the reason for the season.”
