‘Tis the season to be jolly, but there are some US towns and cities that embody the spirit of Christmas 365 days a year.
With names that reflect biblical places, figures of holiday lore and, in some cases, mere seasonal coincidence, these towns and villages have become magnets for tourists who are attracted to their yuletide celebrations and festive markets.
Stretching from the sunny climes of Christmas, Florida to the appropriately frosty North Pole, Alaska – and with a Dasher and Rudolph in between – these towns and villages draw fans who flock to them for everything from a timely Christmas card postmark to a visit with live reindeer (the terrestrial kind).
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
It may be 5,757 miles from the birthplace of Jesus Christ with which it shares a name, but the Pennsylvania city of Bethlehem boasts of being the first in the US to decorate a Christmas tree.
Originally a Moravian settlement, the town became known for decades as the home of the mighty Bethlehem steel plant before the factory’s closure in 2003.
The community was christened on Christmas Eve of 1741 by Bishop Nicolaus Zinzendorf, who said: ‘Brothers, how more fittingly could we call our new home than to name it in honor of the spot where the event we now commemorate took place.’
Six years later, the city decorated its first tree and in 1937, during the Great Depression, it adopted the nickname Christmas City USA and erected a large star on top of the city’s South Mountain.
During the festive season, Bethlehem welcome visitors with a winter wonderland including a Christkindlmarkt, horse-drawn carriage rides and a cocktail trail
During the festive season, 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, Pennsylvania
Only nine miles north of Bethlehem, there is another Moravian settlement named after a town in the Bible, this time the place where Jesus spent his youth.
Emmaus and Egypt are nearby.
The borough and its 6,000 population featured in Mark Knopfler’s Speedway at Nazareth, a tribute to Indycar racing on his solo album Sailing to Philadelphia.
The town really comes into its own at Christmas time with The Nazareth Area Chamber Elf Trail. Participants hunt for elves in shops, collecting getting stamps in their passbook to win a prize.
Christmas, Florida
A short drive east of sunny Orlando, Florida is the town of Christmas.
It was constructed on December 25, 1837, during the Second Seminole War, by 2,000 US Army soldiers and Alabama volunteers. The town itself derives its name from the Fort Christmas the army built.
Santa pays a visit to Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Bethlehem is only a short drive away
The borough comes into its own at Christmas time with The Nazareth Area Chamber Elf Trail
Christmas, Florida, has become best known for its post office, which opened in 1892, and is a mecca for people who want a ‘Christmas’ postmark on their holiday cards
There is now a replica of the fort in the town’s historical park as well as a traditional Florida ‘Cracker’ house, eight pioneer homes, a schoolhouse, lunchroom and sugar cane mill.
But Christmas has become better known for its post office, which opened in 1892, and is a mecca for people who want a ‘Christmas’ postmark on their holiday cards.
The town was also featured in John Green’s 2008 novel Paper Towns, in which three high school students, embark on a mission to track down a missing friend – they search an abandoned mini-mall in Christmas and find vital clues to her case.
North Pole, Alaska
The tiny town in Alaska has become known for celebrating Christmas 365 days a year.
Originally homesteaded in 1944, it was named by a property developer, who thought there would be a market for products made in the North Pole.
While the name stuck – a toy factory never materialized.
It was in 1952 that Conrad Miller put the 2,700-resident town on the map. He set up a trading post in North Pole and named it Santa Claus House.
Today it is North Pole’s best-known attraction with aisles of toys and ornaments. There is also a Santa’s workshop, a 50-foot Santa sculpture, Santa’s sleigh, and an Antler Academy with live reindeer.
Around the town streets such as Santa Claus Lane, Kris Kringle Drive, and Mistletoe Lane have year-round Christmas decorations.
More than 400,000 letters arrive each year at the North Pole Post Office addressed to Santa Claus, naturally, and a team of volunteers responds to each and every one.
The famous Christmas post office circa 1955
The original Santa Claus House, North Pole’s best attraction. The village has year-round Christmas decorations
Rudolph, Wisconsin
Although actually named after a settler named Frederick Rudolph Hecox, Rudolph has long since become synonymous with Santa’s red-nosed reindeer.
‘Welcome to Rudolph’ signs bear his red-nosed visage and greet visitors on arrival.
The village hosts an annual Rudolph Country Christmas event with a festive market, reindeer fun run, horse drawn wagon rides, visits to Santa and his reindeer, and a pop-up Christmas bar.
And as a special nod to ‘the most famous reindeer of all,’ the post office sells reindeer stamps and has a special postmark: ‘Rudolph Wisconsin, Home of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,’ which can be imprinted on visitors’ outgoing mail.
Santa Claus, Arizona
Once a popular year-round destination in the Mojave Desert, Santa Claus, in 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 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 postmark, ‘Rudolph Wisconsin, Home of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,’ which can be imprinted on outgoing mail.
‘Welcome to Rudolph’ signs bear his red-nosed visage and greet visitors on arrival
The original settlement of Rudolph, Wisconsin, pictured in the early 20th century.
Actress Jane Russell once threw a dinner party at the Christmas Tree Inn, in Santa Claus. Today its glory years are long gone.
The Christmas Tree Inn in the 1950s, when the town had a brief resurgence of popularity.
Santa Claus became a popular tourist attraction, including a Cinderella’s Doll House
However, Talbot sold her interest in the town in 1949, and the town’s popularity gradually declined.
It had a brief respite 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 threw a dinner party there.
Dasher, Georgia
Contrary to expectations, the idyllic town of Dasher, nestled in the foothills of Georgia’s Appalachians, is not named after one of Santa’s reindeer but after the Daescher family, who settled on the land in the 19th century.
Nevertheless, it celebrates Christmas in style with its Christmas in the Park.
Visitors can watch 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 christened Suavatooky by the Chickasaw Indians, but was renamed in 1836 by European Americans, after its many trees and springs.
The city has an annual Christmas Parade as well as an Historic Homes tour, in which visitors to Holly Springs can visit seven houses, three churches and its museums, which are all decorated for the festive season.
Snowflake, Arizona
Despite its seasons name, the town of Snowflake – a three-hour drive from Phoenix – is not named after wintery weather.
Snow is comparatively rare in this part of Arizona.
Instead the name remembers Mormon leaders Erastus Snow and William Jordan Flake, who founded the settlement in 1878.
Nonetheless, its 5000 residents get into the holiday spirit with a Town Lighting Ceremony, Twelve Days of Christmas festival, Christmas market. Christmas concert and live nativity show.
