Christmas Peace Pilgrimage - Nazareth to Bethlehem, PA. [In progress]

The Christmas Peace Pilgrimage, the world’s oldest annual witness for peace, was organized in 1960 during the U.S. and Russia’s political Cold War conflict, the ongoing Vietnam War and the rising Hippie movement protesting the Vietnam War. The idea started with Bob Euler from York, Pennsylvania in an effort to give Christian witness for peace to honor the biblical journey Mary and Joseph made from Nazareth to Bethlehem in the Holy Land. What began as a group of Mennonite and Quaker congregants is now organized under the Lehigh County Conferences of Churches including all religions. The Peace Pilgrimage journey is made along Route 191 from Nazareth, Pennsylvania to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, usually on the second weekend of December. The first pilgrimage began with only 17 walkers but expanded to over 250 participants by 2009 with police patrol along the route and rest stops. Apparently 1989 was an exceptionally good year for coverage as there are three copies of videocassettes of the Peace Pilgrimage included in the collection along with several DVDs of later years. The walkers are not only local people but also include out-of-state participants. The pilgrimage is made in good or bad weather. The participants can park their vehicles in Bethlehem, board buses that transport them to Nazareth where the pilgrimage begins around Noon and eventually reaches Bethlehem’s civic center at around 5:00 PM for a program of music and speakers.