“Holidays Around the World,” a celebration of Allentown’s heritage, took place recently at Liberty Bell Museum, Zion’s Church.

Guests learned about holiday traditions by browsing through the museum’s halls and exhibits.

Included in this year’s exhibit was a collection of decorative holiday items from many countries as well as a Pennsylvania German Christmas tree fully decorated circa 1850.

The highlight of the program, however, was the season’s first performance of “Pip, the Mouse Before Christmas.”

The invitation to the event revealed a bit of history about Allentown’s most famous mouse who began delighting children of all ages in 1962.

“Max Hess introduced Pip: The Mouse Before Christmas during the holiday shopping season that year.“

Created by Dr. George Creegan, the “unusual puppet show” was part of the (Hess’s) downtown holiday shopping experience for decades.

When the Bon-Ton closed its downtown location in 1996, just two years after purchasing Hess’s Department stores, the company donated Pip and his stage to the Allentown Downtown Improvement District Authority.

Through the efforts of volunteers from the Civic Theater in 2002, the stage was refurbished and restored to its original state, and since 2003, Pip’s home has been at the Liberty Bell Museum on Hamilton Street, where he presents his show to the delight of children each Christmas season.

Pip was forever memorialized in 2010 when Mayor Ed Pawlowski issued a proclamation naming Pip the official mouse of the city of Allentown.