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The Complete Pilgrim - Religious Travel Sites

Howard Kramer's, The Complete Pilgrim, Religious Travel Site

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HOLIDAY SITES

Welcome to The Complete Holiday Pilgrim, a guide to the 100 Greatest Holiday Destinations and Activities around the world. These places, chosen for their religious, historic, traditional and cultural importance, encompass the spectrum of holiday experiences. Come explore the great Christmas sites, from the Nativity to Santa Claus; from festivals and parades to the movies and music that make the season magical.  Celebrate the Festival of Lights around the world from the ancient Maccabees to modern-day Dreidel competitions.  Discover what treasures of the holidays can be found in your own neighborhood.

 

The Nativity

  • Basilica of the Annunciation – Site of the Annunciation of Mary || Nazareth, Israel
  • Church of the Nativity – Site of the Birth of Jesus || Bethlehem, Israel
  • Church of Sts. Sergius & Bacchus – Home of the Holy Family in Exile || Cairo, Egypt
  • Cathedral of Cologne – Tomb of the Three Wise Men || Cologne, Germany
  • St. Peter’s Square – Vatican Nativity Scene || Rome, Italy
  • Catacomb of Priscilla – Oldest Depiction of the Nativity in Art || Rome, Italy

St. Nicholas/Santa Claus

  • Church of St. Nicholas – Bishopric of Myra || Demre, Turkey
  • Basilica of St. Nicholas – Tomb of Nicholas || Bari, Italy
  • The North Pole – Traditional Home of Santa Claus || The Arctic
  • Santa Claus Village – Unofficial Home of Santa Claus in Europe || Rovaniemi, Finland
  • Santa Claus House – Unofficial Home of Santa Claus in America || North Pole, Alaska
  • Santa Claus Mountain – Starting Point of Annual Sleigh Ride || Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
  • NORAD HQ – Santa Claus Tracker Operations Center || Colorado Springs, Colorado

Christmas Festivals & Events

  • Mummer’s Festival || New Inn, Ireland
  • Befana Festival || Urbania, Italy
  • Boar’s Head & Yule Log Festival || Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Natchitoches Christmas Festival || Natchitoches, Louisiana
  • Dive for the Cross || Tarpon Springs, Florida
  • Day of Goodwill Holiday & Beach Party || Cape Town, South Africa
  • Santa Claus Pub Crawl || Wollongong, Australia

Christmas Pageants & Parades

  • Macy’s Parade & Santaland || New York City, New York
  • Santa Claus Parade || Peoria, Illinois
  • Hollywood Santa Parade || Los Angeles, California
  • Toronto Santa Claus Parade || Toronto, Canada
  • Adelaide Christmas Parade & Magic Cave || Adelaide, Australia

Christmas Markets

  • Christkindlesmarkt || Nuremberg, Germany
  • Winter Wonders Festival || Brussels, Belgium
  • Tivoli Gardens Christmas Market || Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Christmas Markets of Central England || Several Locations, England
  • Great Dickens Christmas Fair || San Francisco, California

Christmas Stores

  • Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas Store & Museum || Rothenberg, Germany
  • Tregaarden’s Christmas House & Post Office || Drobak, Norway
  • Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland || Frankenmuth, Michigan
  • The Incredible Christmas Place || Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Christmas Performances

  • Christmas in Vienna with the Vienna Boys Choir || Vienna, Austria
  • Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert || Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Hansel & Gretel at the German National Theater || Weimar, Germany
  • NYC Performances – Messiah, the Nutcracker, the Rockettes || New York City, New York

Christmas Carols

  • Coventry Mystery plays – “Coventry Carol” || Coventry, England
  • Queen’s College at Oxford – “Boar’s Head Carol” || Oxford, England
  • St. Vitus Cathedral – “Good King Wenceslaus” || Prague, Czech Republic
  • Silent Night Chapel – “Silent Night” || Oberndorf, Austria
  • Collegiate of Roquemaure – “O Holy Night” || Roquemaure, France
  • PNC Bank Headquarters – “Twelve Days of Christmas” || Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Christmas Music

  • George Frederic Handel Sites – “Messiah” || London, England
  • Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky Sites – “The Nutcracker” || Several Locations, Russia
  • James Pierpont Sites – “Jingle Bells” || Several Locations, America
  • Woodlawn Cemetery – Gravesites of Victor Herbert, Irving Berlin & Johnny Marks || New York City, New York

Christmas Literature

  • Charles Dickens Sites – “A Christmas Carol” || Several Locations
  • Clement Clark Moore Sites – “A Visit from St. Nicholas” || New York City, New York
  • Virginia O’Hanlan Sites – “Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus” || Several Locations, America
  • William Porter Sites – “The Gift of the Magi” || Several Locations, America

Christmas Movies

  • Snow Valley – “White Christmas” || Manchester, Vermont
  • Bedford Falls – “It’s a Wonderful Life” || Seneca Falls, New York
  • The Parker House & Museum – “A Christmas Story” || Cleveland, Ohio
  • The McCallister House, etc. – “Home Alone” || Chicago, Illinois
  • Elf Locations – “Elf” || New York City, New York

Christmas Trees

  • Strasbourg Cathedral – First Christmas Tree || Strasbourg, France
  • Zion Lutheran Church – First Christmas Tree in America || Cleveland, Ohio
  • Clackamas County Tree Farms – Christmas Tree Capital of the World || Estacada, Oregon

Christmas Lights

  • Avenue des Champs Elysees || Paris, France
  • Fifth Avenue & Rockefeller Center || New York City, New York
  • Syntagma Square || Athens, Greece
  • Silver Dollar City || Branson, Missouri
  • Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights || Orlando, Florida
  • Christmas Light Drive Thrus || Several Locations, America

Christmas Ornaments & Decorations

  • Lauscha Glassworks – Ornaments || Lauscha, Germany
  • Murano Glassworks – Ornaments || Venice, Italy
  • Santonnier’s Fair – Creches || Marseilles, France
  • Krakow Nativity Scene Competition – Creches || Krakow, Poland
  • Steinbach Nutcracker Woodworks – Nutcrackers || Several Locations, Germany
  • Nutcracker Museum – Nutcrackers || Leavenworth, Washington
  • Snow Globe Museum – Snow Globes || Vienna, Austria

Christmas Treats

  • Hopcraft Bakery – Gingerbread || Market Drayton, England
  • National Gingerbread House Competition – Gingerbread || Asheville, North Carolina
  • Gingerbread City – Gingerbread || Bergen, Norway
  • Café Niederegger – Marzipan || Lubeck, Germany
  • Claxton Bakery – Fruit Cake || Claxton, Georgia
  • Spangler Candy Factory – Candy Canes || Bryan, Ohio
  • Kentucky Fried Chicken || Tokyo, Japan

Christmas Sporting Events

  • King George VI Chase || Sunbury, England
  • Boxing Day Test || Melbourne, Australia
  • Hawaii Bowl || Honolulu, Hawaii

Christmas Odds & Ends

  • National Christmas Center || Paradise, Pennsylvania
  • Salvation Army International Heritage Center || London, England
  • Toys for Tots Foundation || Triangle, Virginia
  • Christmas Card Collections || London, England
  • Rankin & Bass Legacy || Zelienople, Pennsylvania
  • Holiday World Amusement Park || Santa Claus, Indiana
  • New York Botanical Gardens Train Show || New York City, New York
  • Christmas Truce Memorials of the Western Front || Several Locations
  • Poinsettia Farms of Taxco || Taxco, Mexico
  • Christmas Island || London, Kiribati

Hanukkah

  • Modi’in Valley – Tombs of the Maccabees || Modi’in, Israel
  • Budapest Festival of Lights || Budapest, Hungary
  • World’s Largest Permanent Menorah || Manado, Indonesia
  • World’s Oldest Hanukkah Menorah || Brooklyn, New York
  • Menorah & Dreidel Collections || New York City, New York
  • Temple de Hirsch Sinai – “The Dreidel Song” || Seattlw, Washington
  • Major League Dreidel Annual Championships || Brooklyn, New York

THE COMPLETE AMERICAN PILGRIM – NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

THE COMPLETE PILGRIM

Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

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Photo of the Week

BASILICA OF ST. DENIS

Last month, I visited one of the most fascinating churches I have ever been to, the almost completely ignored Basilica of St. Denis in the northern suburbs of Paris.  Almost every French monarch is buried here, and almost nobody goes here.  Here are some pics I took:

Basilica of St. Denis

Tomb of Clovis

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Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

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Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

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Royal Tombs

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Contact Us

Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

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