Bethlehem, Carmarthenshire

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Bethlehem is a tiny farming village in Carmarthenshire in West Wales, the centre of the village is now dominated by 6 council houses. It has a Primary School, a Post Office, a chapel and a village hall. It lies in the Tywi Valley northeast of Llandeilo and southwest of Llangadog, but on the Brecon Beacons National Park side of the river, on the opposite side from the busy Llundain to Hwlffordd road, the A40. It is overlooked by Carn Goch, a significant Iron Age fort with great heaps of stones remaining from the original ramparts.

William Morgan translated the Bible into Welsh in 1588, and translated the Aramaic name for Christ's birthplace into the name we are familiar with. The village chapel was given the same name. Originally known as Dyffryn Ceidrich, the village came to be known by the name of the chapel, probably during the great Methodist revival in Wales of the 19th Century .

Many people from all over the UK flock to the village during the Christmas season. Every year, the village hosts a busy Christmas market ^{[citation needed]}. Another attraction is to post Christmas cards from the village to get a Bethlehem postmark, a practise that first gained national attention in about 1965.