I was born and raised in Lancaster County, PA. It was a great place to grow up. In the center of Lititz, was the Wilbur Chocolate Company, and we could smell the roasting of the cocoa beans (which is the lovely chocolate smell) all over town. We also had the very first Pretzel Bakery in the USA. Sturgis Pretzel Bakery is still on Main Street, and you can stop by and see how pretzels are made, and even make a pretzel yourself (there is a unique "twist" to it). In the Lititz Springs Park, many events take place throughout the year. One of the most outstanding and unusual is the 4th of July Candle Lighting Ceremony. In the evening, one girl from Warwick High School is crowned "Queen of the Candles" to reign over the "Fairyland of Candles." The queen then lights the candles of her court and Scouts from the Lititz area will spread out to light the colossal display of candles throughout the park. Soon the park is aglow with the brilliance of over 7000 candles illuminating the evening sky.

This year was the 182nd celebration. In the earlier celebrations only a few hundred candles were used. The candles were homemade tapers made of a special formula of beeswax, tallow and other ingredients. The work was done by a member of the committee and his family in the winter months and stored in a cool place until the 4th of July. In about 1950, commercial candles replaced the homemade ones.

There are many Moravian Church traditions associated with the town of Lititz. One that is still done today is the ringing of the church bells. The "half-past-eleven bell" is rung each weekday as it was over two hundred years ago. It was the way the town called the workers from the fields for dinner (the noon time meal was dinner, and the evening meal was supper). The Moravian Church bells are rung at 6:00 am on the morning of the 4th of July to announce the beginning of the day's celebration just like in the olden days.

JUST A LITTLE HISTORY: Lititz was founded in 1756 by Count Zinzendorf, a Moravian. The community only gave permission for Moravians to settle there. When I was a girl (in the 50s and 60s) we did have other protestant denominations in town, including Lutheran, Mennonite, and Church of the Brethren. We also had a Roman Catholic Church. Not exactly the diversity we see today, but growth in terms of the closed community it once was. When I was about 9 years old, we celebrated our bi-centennial (200 years) and it was a grand celebration. This was just one of the many parades they had in town: fire engines, school bands, twirlers, boy scouts, girl scouts, and probably some politicians, too. Nice thing was that it always went by our house, so we could just sit on the porch and enjoy the festivities.

The Lititz Springs Park is over 17 acres and was part of a grant of 491 acres, donated to the Moravian Church by George and Anna Klein in 1755. In 1956, the Moravian Congregation gave the park over to a board of twelve trustees, made up of member from 9 area churches and three members from the public at large. They raise money to keep the park in a good state of repair, and the 4th of July celebration is the largest money maker and helps to provide needed funds.

For a personal look at PA Dutch music, dialect, and memories: Bop's Pa. Dutch Vorld Vide Vep Paitch or in case you need it translated: "Bob's PA Dutch World Wide Web Page." Check it out!

Links to some of my other pages:

• Christmas Dinner at Grandma's House
• What Christmas Means To Me
  
• My Family Recipes
  

and my alma maters:

• Warwick High School, Lititz, PA
  
• Mansfield University, (1965-1969), great small town atmosphere in north central PA:
  not too far from the PA Grand Canyon and the picturesque little town of Wellsboro.
  

WGAL-TV, Lancaster, PA:

• WGAL-TV, history.

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© 1997-2001 JKH

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