as Village

“Over time, it was instilled by my parents that
we would come back here to work,” Sonia Koziar
said.
For locals, the Christmas season is not
complete without a brisk night walk through the
Christmas village. The scene of a farmhouse and
barn, adorned with Christmas lights, is a memorable
one for kids.
“Every year we came here as kids,” said
Amanda Maberry, who came to visit with her
2-year-old daughter Kiera. “It’s the whole
experience.”
Changing the scene
Take away the Christmas lights, and the Koziar
farm looks like many of its counterparts. A large
dairy barn and silo dominate the scene, framed by a
fenced pond and outbuildings.
But, with 1 million Christmas lights adorning
the fence posts, barn roof and pond, the farm is
transformed into a scene straight from “The Polar
Express.”
Many of the walking paths are illuminated by
strings of lights, strung in overhead arches and along
fence rails. With a blanket of snow, the lights cast a
warm hue over the whole scene.
The lights illuminate illustrated Christmas
carols, Christmas celebrations across the globe and
favorite cartoon characters from year’s past.
Come spring, this scene will have faded.
Every year, the employees at Koziar’s take
down every light and every hand-painted figure and
sign.
To help preserve the ceramic old-style lights,
strings are brought down after the new year. A full
time artist touches up characters and signs that may
have faded in the sun.
While the task may seem daunting, it allows
Koziars to reset the table for the next holiday
season.
While the farm has changed,
Koziar’s Christmas Village
has been drawing visitors
since the 1940s.
Sonia Koziar is carrying on the tradition started by
her parents William and Grace, who first started
putting up lights on their Berks County farm. Their
stone farmhouse is a centerpiece of the Koziar’s
Christmas Village tour.
“It takes us about three months to take
everything down,” Sonia Koziar said. “We can make
repairs and are always building new things.”
Koziar’s has done some transition to LED
lighting—especially as the old ceramic bulbs
become more difficult to find—but the family tries
to hang on to as much vintage Christmas displays as
possible.
After all, the history of the family and their
love of Christmas is on display here throughout the
season.
A stone house, at the center of the tour, was
home to William and Grace Koziar and some of the
kids’ old toys are used for holiday decorations.
In a way, William and Grace are still part of the
celebration.
“My parents would be so proud of this,” Sonia
Koziar said. “You have that feeling because they
loved it so much. It kept our family together, and
still does.”
For more in
formation
about visitin
g Koziar’s
in Bernvile
www.kozia
rschristma
svillage
.com
Keystone Country
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