{"id":50050,"date":"2025-12-02T13:34:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T13:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/50050\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T13:34:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T13:34:15","slug":"kids-posed-as-shepherds-rode-holly-jolly-trolley-at-tree-lighting-in-new-philadelphia-pottsville-republican-herald","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/50050\/","title":{"rendered":"Kids posed as shepherds, rode Holly Jolly Trolley at tree lighting in New Philadelphia \u2013 Pottsville Republican Herald"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>NEW PHILADELPHIA \u2014 As darkness set in, the glow of a Christmas tree\u00a0 illuminated the borough\u2019s town square on Sunday night.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet this tree stand as a symbol of light and unity,\u201d Deacon John Matulevich declared in blessing the live 40-foot-tall evergreen. \u201cMay it guide us to peace and good will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dozens of people, many of them parents with children, turned out for the annual lighting of the town\u2019s Christmas tree.<\/p>\n<p>Hot chocolate, homemade cookies and boilo \u2014 adults only, naturally \u2014 fended off the brisk evening air.<\/p>\n<p>Officials of the New Philadelphia Community Organization, its sponsor, said the lighting ceremony has been held for at least 25 years, possibly longer.<\/p>\n<p>Karlena Bartashus, the organization\u2019s secretary, gave the welcoming address.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis event is about the spirit of our community,\u201d she said. \u201cIt reminds us of the strength and unity that makes our town so special.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"Youngsters from Holy Cross and St. Clare of Assisi Catholic churches did a live Nativity scene in New Philadelphia on Nov. 30, 2025. (RON DEVLIN\/STAFF PHOTO)\" width=\"3568\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RHR-L-TREELIGHT-1202-02.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"1007418\" \/>Youngsters from Holy Cross and St. Clare of Assisi Catholic churches did a live Nativity scene in New Philadelphia on Nov. 30, 2025. (RON DEVLIN\/STAFF PHOTO)<\/p>\n<p>A live Nativity scene featured youngsters from the PREP program at Holy Cross Catholic Church in New Philadelphia and its sister parish, St. Clare of Assisi in St. Clair.<\/p>\n<p>Stella Swisher and Christian Patton portrayed Mary and Joseph.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"Stella Swisher and Christian Patton were Mary and Joseph at Nativity scene in New Philadelphia on Nov. 30, 2025. (RON DEVLIN\/STAFF PHOTO)\" width=\"1206\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RHR-L-TREELIGHT-1202-01.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"1007419\" \/>Stella Swisher and Christian Patton were Mary and Joseph at Nativity scene in New Philadelphia on Nov. 30, 2025. (RON DEVLIN\/STAFF PHOTO)<\/p>\n<p>The scene featured live sheep and other barnyard animals in a petting zoo.<\/p>\n<p>Workers in the Catholic Charities Community Cafe van distributed complimentary hot chocolate.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"Bert and Duke, Belgian Draught horses, pulled the Holly Jolly Trolley in New Philadelphia on Nov. 30, 2025. (RON DEVLIN\/STAFF PHOTO)\" width=\"1824\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RHR-L-TREELIGHT-1202-04.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"1007420\" \/>Bert and Duke, Belgian Draught horses, pulled the Holly Jolly Trolley in New Philadelphia on Nov. 30, 2025. (RON DEVLIN\/STAFF PHOTO)<\/p>\n<p>Santa Claus welcomed children and adults to Holly Jolly Trolley, pulled through the borough by Bert and Duke, a pair of Belgian Draught horses.<\/p>\n<p>The trolley was provided by Leiby Carriage Service in Lewistown Valley, which can be reached at 570-590-6514.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW PHILADELPHIA \u2014 As darkness set in, the glow of a Christmas tree\u00a0 illuminated the borough\u2019s town square&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[5527,182,28766,28,69,71,70,231],"class_list":{"0":"post-50050","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-christmas","9":"tag-local-news","10":"tag-new-philadelphia","11":"tag-pennsylvania","12":"tag-philadelphia","13":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","14":"tag-philadelphia-news","15":"tag-schuylkill-county"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50050","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=50050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}