With the holiday season in full swing, the Lewisburg and Mifflinburg communities and the University are raising spirits by hosting multiple festive events in the coming weeks. Some of Downtown Lewisburg’s annual events include the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting and Late Shoppers Night. Regarding the University, the beloved Candlelight Services will be held at Rooke Chapel beginning on Dec. 1. Additionally, the widely acclaimed Christkindl Market in Mifflinburg will kick off in a few short weeks. Indeed, while there may not be much time left in the semester, the time that remains will be packed with holiday spirit.

Annual Tree Lighting

On Thursday, Nov. 30, Lewisburg’s Annual Christmas Tree Lighting was held in Hufnagle Park at 7 pm to celebrate the start of the holiday season. During the two-hour event, attendees sang carols, listened to a rendition of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and watched the massive town tree light up.

“The Tree lighting is special because it kicks off the Holiday season for Downtown. Not many places have such a large and robust tree. When our tree is lit up, it is a breathtaking experience,” Coleby Kauffman, Marketing Advisor to the Lewisburg Downtown Partnership, said.

Many people in the Lewisburg community help to coordinate events like the Tree Lighting, and thus contribute to their ultimate success. “We have a great team of people who care about the vibrancy and overall experience of Downtown Lewisburg. We work together to develop and deploy various strategies that focus on creating the best Holiday events that we can,” Kauffman shared.

Both students and members of the Lewisburg community cherish the tree lighting tradition.

“Tree lighting is one of my favorite holiday traditions from growing up, so I love going to the one in Lewisburg. It always gets me in the holiday spirit and it’s fun connecting with members of the Lewisburg community,” Molly Farrell ‘18 said.

Late Shoppers Night

Late Shoppers Night will take place in Downtown Lewisburg on Friday, Dec. 1 starting at 7 pm. For this unique Lewisburg event, stores on Market Street stay open for shoppers until midnight, providing refreshments as well as great deals and discounts to their patrons. According to Kauffman, throughout the night, there are carolers and people dressed up in Victorian holiday attire walking throughout the streets all night long.

“Everyone comes out for the event. Late Shoppers Night is the pinnacle of the holiday season for us, as it allows the community to have a night where the stores and restaurants are here to help make their holiday season magical,” Kauffman said.

Christmas Candlelight Services

The Christmas Candlelight Services are taking place on Friday, Dec. 1, Sunday, Dec. 3, and Tuesday, Dec. 5 in Rooke Chapel. The event features performances from the University Choir and Camerata and the Rooke Chapel Ringers, as well as bible readings delivered by faculty, staff and students.

Members of the University Choir and Camerata and Rooke Chapel Ringers dedicate weeks to rehearsing and preparing for the Services. Elizabeth Hammond ‘18, a member of the University Choir, stated that the group began practicing their music as early as the end of October, and just this past week began collectively rehearsing with the other performers and speakers in the concert.

“Although I love all of the pieces we sing as a choir, my favorite part is definitely the hymn singing because the whole chapel sings with us. It separates it from all of the other performances we do during the semester and really brings out the spirit of the holiday,” Hammond ‘18 said.

To attend the Candlelight Services, students can purchase tickets through myBucknell or at the Campus Box Office in the Weis Center for Performing Arts.

Mifflinburg’s Christkindl Market

The 29th annual Christkindl Market in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania will take place from Dec. 14 to Dec. 16. The Market is one of the Susquehanna Valley community’s most anticipated events of the year. Founded in 1987, Mifflinburg Christkindl Market is the oldest authentic Christkindl market in the United States.

Rudi Skucek, a native Austrian, came up with the idea to hold a Christkindl Market in Mifflinburg to meet the town’s desire for an event that would honor the German roots of the area. The Market provides over 100 huts that sell traditional foods and crafts. The Market also features choral concerts, informative talks about the German tradition, zither music, and the Christkindl Cinema. Skucek passed away in 2007, but his wife Joannah Skucek still oversees the development of the Market, acting as its president.

Joannah shared that she values the authenticity of the Mifflinburg Christkindl Market.

“My favorite aspect of the Christkindl Market is the knowledge that over 29 years we have been able to create an ambiance that shadows the Markets held in Germany and Austria. We have had German visitors and Americans who lived in Germany for many years confirm that we truly have an authentic Christkindl Market,” Joannah said.

The Mifflinburg Christkindl Market is an amazing outlet where the community can come together and celebrate the holidays. “We see students of the Mifflinburg School District return to their home town to meet with others during Christkindl and family reunions are planned around this event,” Joannah said.