In 1985, author Joan Campion (1940-2011), along with five like-minded friends, founded and incorporated South Bethlehem Historical Society. Over the past 29 years, the society has offered many events that have delighted its membership, supporters and friends throughout Bethlehem.

One particular event that many look forward to this time of the year is the annual "Christmas in Bethlehem - An Ethnic Experience," a display of Christmas trees decorated by various immigrant groups who arrived in South Bethlehem over a century ago. The American tradition of decorating evergreen trees at Christmas has far-reaching roots in time and distance.

On Christmas Eve in 1741, after the construction of their first log house, the Moravian Brethren named their church-village "Bethlehem." Of the many traditions that endure in Bethlehem today is their version of the Christmas tree - clipped evergreen branches fashioned into a pyramid and decorated with hanging apples and handwritten religious verses in ink on parchment tucked among the branches.

During the 1800s, German immigrants who arrived in America also brought their traditional Christmas tree. Prior to the Civil War, President Franklin Pierce was the first to have a Christmas tree in the White House. By 1900, one out of every five Americans had an evergreen Christmas tree upon whose branches were festooned strings of cranberries and popcorn, and decorated with paper, metal, celluloid or imported glass ornaments from Czechoslovakia and Germany.

In South Bethlehem at that time, an immigrant work force of 58 nationalities, which numbered 10,500, worked in various departments according to Bethlehem Steel records.

The annual South Bethlehem tradition, "Christmas in Bethlehem - An Ethnic Experience" was based on a concept first seen at the Pennsylvania State Capital. The story goes like this-

In 1947, Portuguese immigrant Armindo Sousa, then 14, arrived in South Bethlehem on Christmas Eve with his mother, Teresa Pereira Sousa, and his older brother, Antonio, Jr. Armindo's father, Antonio, happily greeted his family at Union Station after a storm had dumped four feet of snow.

During the Korean War, Armindo served as an interpreter in Germany from 1953-1955 and once back home, attended Moravian Academy. In 1959, he married Celeste Oliviera and had two children. For a good part of his life, Armindo immersed himself in community activities that centered around Portuguese-Americans on the Southside and in 1985 became a member of South Bethlehem Historical Society board of directors.

From 1982 to 1987, he was a member of the Pennsylvania Governor's Heritage Affairs Advisory Commission. As the first Portuguese-American commissioner, he worked closely with governors Dick Thornburg and Robert Casey. Armindo also headed the State Proclamation of the Portuguese Heritage Week in the Pennsylvania State capital.

It was on one December while in the state capital that Armindo saw a display of Christmas trees decorated by various ethnic groups represented throughout the state. At an SBHS board meeting in 1990, he suggested his idea to display Christmas trees decorated by various ethnic groups of South Bethlehem. A year later in 1991 in the Comfort Suites lobby, the first ethnic Christmas trees were decorated and displayed with descriptions of traditions, countries of origin and the churches each ethnic group was affiliated.

This annual event not only recognizes the rich ethnic heritage that immigrants brought to South Bethlehem, but also celebrates their toil and efforts that made South Bethlehem what it is today.

To recapture the diversity and unique traditions of the holiday season practiced within the Southside community, visit the Comfort Suites lobby for the 23 annual "Christmas in South Bethlehem, An Ethnic Experience" sponsored by South Bethlehem Historical Society.

Scheduled the first Sunday of Advent on Nov. 30, the two-hour program featured holiday musical performances and the official tree-lighting ceremony, followed by refreshments and fellowship.

Ethnic Christmas traditions do continue to live on in South Bethlehem!