Contest Celebrates 'Christmas City' Moniker

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Christmas City, Bethlehem is reaching out to the creative community to ensure that this year’s holiday season is unique.

Mayor John Callahan announced the first Christmas City Kinetic Typography Competition, a contest where designers can animate a portion of text from the 1937 speech which gave Bethlehem its popular moniker -- "The Christmas City."

Kinetic typography is the technical term for the moving text seen during the opening title sequence of many movies and television shows. There are thousands of kinetic typography videos uploaded to Web sites like YouTube and Vimeo. A YouTube example is attached to this story.

“Kinetic typography is the perfect blend of creativity and technology,” Callahan said. “We are very proud of the growing creative community in Bethlehem. This contest provides a showcase for talent here and across the country.”

Text for the Christmas City competition was taken from a speech given by Vernon K. Melhado, president of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce in 1937. The speech includes the line:

“We do not say Bethlehem created Christmas. What we say is that Christmas created Bethlehem.”

A recording of the speech was created by James P. Jordon, artistic director of Touchstone Theater.

For the sound file, text and official entry form, visit www.christmascreatedbethlehem.com. Animations must be submitted by midnight Nov. 20.