December 24, 2020
ALLENTOWN, NJ (MERCER)–Not even COVID-19 could stop Santa on his regular Christmas Eve trip around Allentown on a fire truck this year. Now, Santa is getting ready to head out to deliver gifts around the world later tonight.
The Santa visit tradition could be well over 100 years old, as far as any current and retired member with Hope Fire Company can remember. No one knows when exactly the Christmas Eve tradition started. Those have long since retired from their firefighter career remember Santa always being in town the night before Christmas on a fire engine, even when they were children.
As the tradition continues, Santa parks the sleigh behind the firehouse, and while the reindeer get some food and energy for the all night flight, Santa would deliver early gifts to children in Allentown Borough. This year, Dr. Anthony Fauci did give Santa the COVID-19 vaccination at the North Pole, and Governor Murphy did make Santa “essential personnel” earlier today, still Santa was prevented to deliver gifts on the fire truck tonight.
Although early gifts were not allowed this year, Santa still decided to make his rounds on the Hope Fire Company fire engine to say hello from a safe distance. Next year Santa hopes to come back with the normal tradition of going around Allentown on the fire engine handing out gifts.
