The Greatest Christmas Display in the U.S.A.

During our Pennsylvania trip to Hershey Park, I deliberately made sure our last night would be spent at Koziar's Christmas Village in Bernville, PA.  Koziar's Christmas Village has been dubbed, "The Greatest Christmas Display in the U.S.A.," and as a fan of the Christmas holiday and Christmas lights, I made sure we would someday go to this place, especially while Lewie was still young.

Koziar's Christmas Village has a website, which describes the attraction, but I honestly didn't understand what it would be like until we went there.  I had questions.  Did the Christmas Village have stores?  Did people enjoy the light display while going into little shops and restaurants?  Would there be rides?  I was so used to commercialized attractions that I thought this one would have the pomp and circumstance of a mini theme park.

I couldn't have been more wrong.  The Christmas Village started in 1948 when a young couple, William and Grace Koziar, began decorating their farmhouse for their four children.  They ran a farm, Koziar's Spring Lake Dairy Farm, and back in those days, they "had to wait until the cows were milked to turn on the lights as [they] did not have enough electrical power to do both at the same time."   Each year, more and more lights were added to the farm so that it became a local attraction called "The Christmas House."

As "The Christmas House" attracted more and more visitors, the narrow road leading up to the farm was no longer safe.  The Koziar family added a parking lot and then started turning their chicken coops into mini houses with different Christmas themes for people to see.  For example, there are small buildings like "The Old School House," "The Post Office," "Santa's Workshop," and "Christmas Under the Sea" that people can peer into to see different scenes.  (Many of these displays were created by the Koziar children themselves.  They donated their own toys, which adds to the charm and authenticity.)

Soon, "The Christmas House," came to be known as "Koziar's Christmas Village."  With all the lights and mini houses on display, the Koziars then started adding train displays, "the Kissing Bridge," a refreshment shop (which is more like a stand), and a gift barn.   Today, it is just like this.

We pulled into a grassy parking lot, paid for our tickets at a little booth, and then followed the path of lights, which brought us to the train displays, mini houses, wooden displays, and "Santa's Headquarters."  It was a little chilly but not too bad.  "Lewie, do you want to meet Santa?" I asked.

He looked at the line and responded, "Mommy, I know that's not the real Santa in there.  You know there are many Santas."

How could I argue with him?  I felt lucky that this nine year-old still believes in Santa.  I could never try and convince him that this particular Santa was "the real one."   He knew we were at a former dairy farm--not the North Pole.

We proceeded to follow the path that led to more little houses (chicken coops), the refreshment stand, and the gift barn.  With both Little Lewie and my husband not being fans of shopping, they voted to leave me at the gift barn while they went back to the car to warm up.  There were tons of ornaments and Christmas decorations for sale--I was in love with a few of them.  Still, keeping to my budget, I bought a Koziar's Christmas Village ornament and a little book that discusses the history (which has helped me with this blog post).

Inside the gift barn...there were tons of Christmas decorations for sale.

Koziar's Christmas Village attracts many people, but it is not commercial.  It is a former dairy farm with classic decorations from the 1940's, 50's, and 60's.  The allure is in its history and in its replica of a simpler time--a time when children played with rag dolls and wooden toys; a time when children spent days using their imagination; a time before TV, the internet, and cell phones.

I'm glad we went.  There is no question that the most amazing part of this place was the light display seen from a distance.  The description is captured well in the book: "Driving through the darkened countryside and coming over that last hill on the unlit road is like driving into a fairyland.  Suddenly you find yourself in a dazzling valley set aglow with more Christmas lights than you've ever seen before."

We stopped on the windy, narrow road, so I could get this last picture of "the Christmas Village."