![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/988852.webp\" "\\"The")
<\/p>\nWhen it comes to
\ncelebrating the Christmas season, there are two stories to tell.<\/p>\n
The first one is
\nthe story featuring Santa Claus, elves, reindeer, Christmas trees, snowmen,
\nlights, presents and the joy of giving to others.<\/p>\n
The second is the
\nbiblical journey of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus, with the one
\ngift being given to mankind.<\/p>\n
That story focuses
\non the faith of Mary and Joseph, the birth of the Savior, the journey of the
\nmagi, the shepherds, the angels and what some people refer to as the true
\nmeaning of Christmas.<\/p>\n
While there is
\nroom in people\u2019s hearts to celebrate both sides of the Christmas story, the
\nWalnut Creek community opted to faithfully commit to the biblical story during
\nits annual Journey to Bethlehem, which will take place throughout Walnut
\nCreek and culminate at The Farm in Walnut Creek Dec. 5-6 from 4-8 p.m.<\/p>\n
Patrons taking the
\njourney will experience a cast of characters portraying a marketplace, the
\ninnkeeper who provides a place for the birth, King Herod\u2019s effort to locate the King of kings and a trek to The
\nFarm, where the majority of the event will take place.<\/p>\n
There, the
\nshepherds tending to their flocks by night, the magi camping by firelight as
\nthey seek the newborn king and more from the story of the birth
\nof Jesus await travelers.<\/p>\n
The final scene
\nfeatures the angels singing their praises high above the newborn babe, Mary and
\nJoseph as they gaze fondly at their son and the culmination of a story that has
\nbeen revered for centuries.<\/p>\n
Not only is the
\ntrek revered because of the story, but also it is remembered because of the
\nattention to detail that makes every moment
\nspecial, from the luminarias lighting the way along the trail to the
\nhorse-drawn hay wagons that take visitors through the journey on The Farm.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n The Farm in Walnut Creek is aglow with thousands of luminarias that invite visitors to experience the Christmas story, enjoy some great food and get into the true spirit of Christmas, all free to the public.
\n Submitted\n <\/p>\n
\u201cVolunteers at The
\nFarm put out 1,000 luminarias in white bags with sand and a candle,\u201d committee
\nmember Rose Hershberger said. \u201cOn Friday evening we go through and snuff them out, relight
\nthem the next evening and on Saturday evening we clean them all up.\u201d<\/p>\n
From placing
\nluminarias to serving as candle lighters, census takers, ushers, greeters, wisemen, wagon drivers, tour guides, Roman
\nsoldiers on horseback, parking attendants, food servers and more,
\nthere are hundreds of volunteers who create the ambiance to make this event a
\nspecial one for those seeking true meaning of Christmas.<\/p>\n
Aside from the
\nstory, visitors are treated to food along the way including
\nfreshly popped kettle corn, marshmallow roasting, Rice Krispies Treats, cookies,
\nAmish cinnamon rolls, chocolate-covered pretzels, apples, cheese, hot chocolate
\nand coffee.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone talks
\nabout the cinnamon rolls that are served here,\u201d Hershberger said. \u201cThey were made
\ninitially by the neighbor ladies until 2024 when a local bakery made 112 big pans
\nof rolls.\u201d<\/p>\n
The popcorn is
\nmade at the dairy barn in two cast iron kettles using about 400 pounds of
\npopcorn.<\/p>\n
To make things
\neasy for patrons, The Farm runs shuttles from the parking lot to the live nativity,
\nfrom the live nativity to the encampment of the three magi, to the houses for
\nrefreshments and back to the parking lot again.<\/p>\n
The tour takes
\napproximately two to three hours, with The Farm providing 20 wagons that take 40 horses plus some spare teams to pull over the two days.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\n The three wisemen are one of several stops along Journey to Bethlehem in Walnut Creek Dec. 5-6.
\n Doyle Yoder\n <\/p>\n
In addition, there
\nare several neighboring farmers who bring their teams and help shuttle people, every
\nwagon hosting one driver and one tour guide.<\/p>\n
Then there is the scene
\nin the horse barn, where the newborn baby awaits travelers.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach year the
\nhighlight of the tour is the mesmerizing scene of the live nativity, with the
\ntop of the horse barn able to seat 300 people at one time for the live nativity
\npresentation, which is 10-13 minutes. Then it takes about that long to exit and
\nbring in a new crowd,\u201d Hershberger said. <\/p>\n
The serenity,
\npurpose and music in the barn lift the traditional birth story to a whole new
\nlevel.<\/p>\n
Amazingly, this
\nevent began with only a few hundred people attending. Over the past 15 years, it
\nhas turned into something much more significant, with close to 10,000 people taking
\nthe tour during the two nights.<\/p>\n
One of the main
\nattractions that keep people coming back every year is it is very low-key with no fancy decorations, and it remains committed to avoiding the
\ncommercialized side of Christmas.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the
\nbeginning the Walnut Creek group wanted to put something together that would
\nshow people what Christmas truly represents,\u201d Hershberger said, \u201cthe real
\nreason for the season. It was decided from the beginning to keep it from being
\na commercial event.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because of the
\ntour\u2019s sincerity and commitment to the biblical story of Christmas, people have
\nbeen extremely willing to donate supplies and help in many ways without their
\nnames being mentioned.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the local
\nbusinesses that are asked to participate in Journey to Bethlehem are glad to
\nhelp without any pay or recognition,\u201d Hershberger said. \u201cThat\u2019s what makes
\nJourney to Bethlehem so special.\u201d<\/p>\n
The preparation
\nbegins six weeks ahead to get rooms for volunteers, who all get to eat at The
\nFarm kitchen. Hershberger said they serve around 300 volunteers per evening including wagon drivers, tour guides, shepherds, angels, carolers and more.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis event would
\nnot be possible if not for all the wonderful volunteers that show up and help
\nin any kind of weather until everyone has gone through,\u201d Hershberger said. \u201cIt makes
\nfor some late nights but precious memories.\u201d<\/p>\n
The public is invited to this free event to experience the drama, sights
\nand sounds of first-century Israel with eight stops representing the search
\nfor the Christ Child.<\/p>\n
Registration for the census, the tour\u2019s first stop, will take place at Elite
\nFlooring & Tile, 2433 state Route 39, Sugarcreek.
\nWalking and driving are required for the self-guided journey.<\/p>\n
For more information call 234-301-0325.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When it comes to celebrating the Christmas season, there are two stories to tell. The first one is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41562,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-41561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}