What's Happening in Bethlehem This Week: December 21-27, 2026

The week of Monday, December 21 through Sunday, December 27, 2026 is Christmas week in Bethlehem, the city that bills itself as the Christmas City. Christkindlmarkt and Christmas City Village have wrapped their 2026 seasons, but the holiday calendar keeps going: the Live Advent Calendar runs its final three nights in the Sun Inn Courtyard, Central Moravian Church holds its candlelit Christmas Eve services, the Bethlehem By Night motorcoach and the Spirits of Christmas pub tour keep running through the week, and Bethlehem Township holds its December Board of Commissioners meeting Monday night. This roundup covers Hanover Township (where 3650 Stephen Crane Ln sits), the City of Bethlehem, Bethlehem Township, the Bethlehem Area School District, well-reviewed places to eat, Wind Creek Bethlehem, and Lehigh and Moravian universities. Everything below was checked against official and current sources during this week's research.

Around Bethlehem: Hanover Township, the City, and Bethlehem Township

In Hanover Township, Northampton County, where 3650 Stephen Crane Ln sits, no Board of Supervisors meeting falls inside this window. The board held its single December session Tuesday, December 15 at 7:00 PM at the Municipal Office, 3630 Jacksonville Road, under the township's December policy of a third-Tuesday meeting; sessions resume on the second and fourth Tuesdays in January. Agendas and livestream details post ahead on hanovertwp-nc.org. Curbside leaf collection has wrapped for the season. Christmas trees are not collected curbside in December; the township directs residents to the City of Bethlehem Compost Facility on Schoenersville Road, which is closed for the month and reopens Monday, January 4 through Friday, January 30 to accept trees free of ornaments and tinsel. Township offices close for the Christmas holiday; the schedule posts on the township's public works pages.

In the City of Bethlehem, the Christmas City calendar winds down but does not stop. The Live Advent Calendar, billed as the only live Advent calendar of its kind in the country, runs its final three nights Monday through Wednesday, December 21-23 at 5:30 PM in the Sun Inn Courtyard at 564 Main Street, with a new window revealed each evening and free treats for guests. Christmas City Village, the free outdoor holiday market of wooden huts on Main and Broad Streets, closed for the season Sunday, December 20, as did Christkindlmarkt at SteelStacks after its final December weekend. Downtown tours keep the season going: the Christmas City Stroll walking tour runs through January 3, the Bethlehem By Night motorcoach tour runs through December 31 and includes a stop at the star atop South Mountain, and the adults-only Spirits of Christmas Pub Walking Tour makes its historic tavern stops through December 28. The Trees of Historic Bethlehem exhibition stays open at three historic sites through early January. Details are at historicbethlehem.org and visithistoricbethlehem.com.

At SteelStacks on the South Side, Christkindlmarkt has closed for the season, but the Musikfest Cafe hosts Jimmy and The Parrots: A Parrot Holiday Party Saturday, December 26 at 7:30 PM (doors at 6:00 PM, tickets about $19.25 to $34.25) and a Holiday Drag Brunch Sunday, December 27 at 11:00 AM, per current ArtsQuest listings; confirm showtimes on the ArtsQuest calendar at artsquest.org.

For Christmas Eve worship, Central Moravian Church at 73 West Church Street holds its traditional candlelit services Thursday, December 24 with beeswax candles, a service that requires advance ticket requests through the church office; the Christmas Putz nativity display remains open through December 31, and free tours of the 1751 Old Chapel and 1803 Sanctuary continue. Details are at centralmoravianchurch.org.

Bethlehem Township holds its Board of Commissioners regular meeting Monday, December 21 at 7:00 PM at the Municipal Building, 4225 Easton Avenue, the board's second December session under the first-and-third-Monday schedule. Township offices close Friday, December 25 for Christmas and the day after, and the Township Yard Waste Recycling Center at 4450 Falmer Drive, which accepts Christmas trees, is closed Christmas Day; its regular hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday noon to 4:00 PM, Saturday 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and Sunday 1:00 to 4:00 PM, weather dependent. Agendas and the holiday schedule post at bethlehemtownship.org.

Bethlehem Area School District, Freedom, and Liberty

The district is on its published 2026-2027 winter break Monday, December 21 through Friday, January 1, with classes resuming Monday, January 4. No school events or varsity competitions are scheduled during the holiday week; the district schedules its Keystone Exams for the weeks of January 4-15 after students return. The BASD Board of Directors held its regular December session Monday, December 14, and its next meeting follows after the break; agendas and the livestream post on the district calendar at basdschools.org.

Freedom and Liberty winter teams pause for the holiday, and no Freedom or Liberty varsity games appear on published schedules inside this window; the day-by-day winter athletics calendar at basdschools.org is the place to confirm resumption dates the first week of January, since schedules can shift.

Good Places to Eat in Bethlehem

Christmas week dining calls for a plan, because holiday hours vary and many kitchens close Christmas Eve evening and Christmas Day. These are real, verifiable places across downtown, the South Side, and near Hanover Farms:

• Apollo Grill at 85 West Broad Street is a long-running downtown favorite with a 4.6-star average across more than 1,000 reviews.
• Billy's Downtown Diner at 10 East Broad Street covers breakfast and lunch with a 4.3-star average across about 255 reviews.
• Machs Gute Pub and Grille at 713 Linden Street pairs pub fare with a 4.4-star average across about 78 reviews.
• The People's Kitchen at 639 Linden Street is a casual cafe with a 4.6-star average across more than 230 reviews.
• Tre Scalini Ristorante at 221 East Broad Street serves Italian with a 4.4-star average across about 107 reviews.
• ZEST bar+grille at 306 South New Street on the South Side offers upscale-casual dining steps from Lehigh's campus, with a 4.2-star average across about 100 reviews.
• Southside 313 Bar & Grille at 313 East 3rd Street is a short walk from Wind Creek, and The Nest Bar & Grille at 601 East 4th Street keeps neighborhood hours nearby.
• Palette & Pour at 101 Founders Way sits on the SteelStacks campus, handy before or after a Musikfest Cafe show.
• Near Hanover Farms, Hanover Eatery at 5090 Bath Pike is a casual local spot with a 4.1-star average across about 57 reviews.

If you are heading to Wind Creek, the casino's own dining runs from the casual Urban Table to the Chop House steakhouse, both listed at windcreek.com/bethlehem/dining. Call ahead everywhere for holiday hours.

Events at Wind Creek Bethlehem

No headline show fills the Wind Creek Event Center at 77 Wind Creek Boulevard this Christmas week; Cirque Dreams Holidaze wrapped its holiday run the weekend of December 18-19, and the venue's published calendar is quiet until the new year. The casino's free Molten Lounge keeps its live-band and DJ lineup running seven nights a week, and the property's outlets follow their own holiday hours. Check the week's entertainment and hours at windcreek.com/bethlehem and windcreekeventcenter.com.

Lehigh University and Moravian University

Lehigh University is on its winter break, with fall classes long over and Winter Term beginning Monday, December 28. The men's basketball team plays a road game Tuesday, December 22 at Auburn, the Mountain Hawks' lone game inside this window; the women's team is idle between a December 19 game at Long Island and a December 30 home game against American. Confirm both at lehighsports.com. The Zoellner Arts Center is dark during the break, and the campus largely closes for the holiday; check zoellner.cas.lehigh.edu for any end-of-year notices.

Moravian University is likewise on winter break through the holiday. Payne Gallery at 346 Main Street closed its fall exhibition, Bill Needs: A Visual Journey Through the History of the Moravian Church, on December 18 and is dark for changeover, reopening with a new show after the new year. Men's and women's basketball are idle in this window; both return for the Steel Club Classic in late December at the university, with the women's squad scheduled to face William Paterson Tuesday, December 29. Campus offices close for the holiday; confirm schedules at moraviansports.com and moravian.edu.

The Week Ahead in One Glance

• Mon Dec 21: BASD winter break begins; Live Advent Calendar 5:30 PM in the Sun Inn Courtyard; Bethlehem Township Board of Commissioners 7:00 PM at 4225 Easton Avenue.
• Tue Dec 22: Live Advent Calendar 5:30 PM; Lehigh men's basketball plays at Auburn.
• Wed Dec 23: Live Advent Calendar's final night 5:30 PM.
• Thu Dec 24: Christmas Eve; Central Moravian Church candlelit services; many restaurants and businesses close early.
• Fri Dec 25: Christmas Day; township offices and most businesses closed.
• Sat Dec 26: Jimmy and The Parrots: A Parrot Holiday Party at the Musikfest Cafe 7:30 PM at SteelStacks.
• Sun Dec 27: Holiday Drag Brunch at the Musikfest Cafe 11:00 AM; Christmas City Stroll and Bethlehem By Night tours continue.

Looking past the weekend: PEEPSFEST, the family-friendly New Year's Eve celebration at SteelStacks, runs Wednesday and Thursday, December 30-31 from 3:00 to 6:00 PM, with the illuminated PEEPS Chick Drop at about 5:30 PM and fireworks both days; Lehigh's Winter Term begins Monday, December 28; and BASD students return Monday, January 4.

What Buyers and Sellers Should Know About a Bethlehem Christmas Week

The week between Christmas and New Year's is one of the quietest on the calendar for showings, and that is exactly why it can reward a prepared buyer. Sellers who list now are often motivated to move on their own timeline rather than the market's, and with fewer shoppers in the mix, a buyer with a pre-approval and a clear plan can get a fuller look at a house without the usual weekend crowd.

The most recent GLVR market report, covering September 2026 for Lehigh and Northampton Counties, put the median sales price at $375,000, up 6.8 percent from a year earlier, with 580 closed sales, homes selling in a median of 20 days, and sellers receiving on average 100.8 percent of their original list price. Active inventory rose 10.8 percent to 963 units, a step toward balance, though GLVR noted the market still sits well below a balanced supply. In practical terms: well-priced homes in good condition still move quickly, and the homes that linger are usually the ones priced without current data behind them.

For buyers, the holidays are a fine time to get the money side in order. Use the lull to compare lenders, line up a pre-approval, and settle your must-haves list so you can act the moment January inventory hits the market, which is the traditional post-holiday ramp. For sellers, January is the start of the spring market and a good target for a launch: decluttered rooms, a clean furnace service record, and a home that photographs well in short winter daylight all help. On a practical note, a documented, economical heat source is a genuine winter selling point; the pellet stove at 3650 Stephen Crane Ln is exactly that kind of feature, and the flexible lower level and in-ground pool give it year-round appeal.

As always, event details, times, and hours can change over the holidays, so confirm directly with the township, city, school, venue, or university before heading out. I research this roundup fresh every week from official and current sources, and I never publish an event I cannot verify.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas from the Christmas City. If you are thinking about buying or selling in the new year, this is a good week to start the conversation: 3650 Stephen Crane Ln in Hanover Farms is listed at $414,900, with 3 bedrooms plus an office or possible 4th bedroom, 1.5 baths, an in-ground pool, and a covered patio. To arrange a private tour, call Tim Tepes at (484) 275-0056 or use the contact page.