Lights of Christmas: Magical Festivals Near and Far

The lights of Christmas are magnets for myriad holiday festivals this season. Celebrating the winter solstice has always involved the lengthening of days by lighting candles and bonfires, but contemporary animated Christmas light exhibitions – especially with LED lights — are dazzling….By Susan McKee

Lights of Christmas: The List

Winter City Lights. Animated Christmas lights add Hollywood production values to this sparkling festival, now open in suburban Washington, D.C. Winter City Lights transforms 18 outdoor acres with 200,000 square feet of displays, including a 52-foot-tall programmable Christmas tree, a 32,000-square-foot canopy of lights, a 1.5-mile trail through the woods with holiday vignettes, and “guaranteed snow”. The event is open “select” weekdays and weekends through December 31, 2022, at 4501 Olney-Laytonsville Road, Olney, Maryland. 

In both Chicago, Illinois, and New York City, the Amaze Light Festival takes visitors on a luminous holiday adventure where animated Christmas lights bring storybook characters Zing and Sparky to life to guide visitors through mesmerizing festive décor, including a million lights and five interactive holiday-themed worlds.

Visitors to New York City can take festive rides on the Arctic Express Train and enjoy the smell of fresh pine in the enchanted Tree Farm. They also can stroll through the royal castle, stop by to meet the princess, and make a wish at the magical fountain. In Chicago, highlights include an animated Deck The Halls themed gift box tunnel filled to the brim with sparkles, ornaments, and ribbons, and the chance to travel through a winter wonderland on The World Arctic Express Train. Both locations are open on “select dates” through January 8, 2023.

LuminoCity Festival

An Immersive World of Magical Light installations comes to life at the LuminoCity Festival in Nassau County, New York. What’s claimed to be the country’s largest animated Christmas light display kicks off with a mega light show every 30 minutes. Festival goers are invited to walk on a narrative walking journey with light-art installations through eight custom display sets: Wildlife Safari, Dinosaur Adventures, Magic Kingdom, Alice’s Enchantment, Winter Wonderland, and HolidayLAND. The festival runs every Wednesday to Sunday through January 8, 2023. 

Twinkling lights of Christmas festivals aren’t just for big cities. They’re found across the country – and beyond. 

A Holiday Light Show illuminates the Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville, Wisconsin, each year. This seasonal escape into a winter wonderland has more than one million twinkling lights. 

Show dates run through December 30. Grab your warmest mittens and a thermos of hot cocoa for a most magical winter walk. 

The lights of Christmas glisten and spark with fountains and holiday décor during the Holidays at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden festival near Charlotte, North Carolina. Family and friends gather around the warmth of an outdoor fire while kids, young and old, delight in making s’mores. For an unusual holiday photo, take a selfie in front of the Orchid Tree outside the Great Hall. It’s open through December 31, 2022.

The Holiday Lights Pass

The Holiday Lights Pass in Columbus, Ohio, offers admission and discounts for two of the city’s light displays — Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, and Conservatory Aglow at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens (exhibit only).  The lights of Christmas display at the zoo is open through January 1, 2023 and the one in the botanical gardens closes January 8, 2023. 

Visitors can also choose to add on discounted admission to the new Magic of Lights experience at Historic Crew Stadium through January 1, 2023. Find two free displays in the Ohio capital: Holiday lights in Columbus Commons and the Scioto (River) Mile.

LumiNature returns to the Philadelphia Zoo for another season of sights, sounds, and surprises in animated Christmas lights and displays. See more than a million twinkling lights across 14 illuminated zones and experience a magical journey celebrating the wonder of wildlife and the beauty of our planet. at our biggest and brightest holiday light show yet. It’s open now through January 1, 2023, with an encore January 7 and 8.

Both old-fashioned candles and state-of-the-art LED lights illuminate Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, this season. Winter Wonderland at The Beach returns for its second year, featuring spectacular lights of Christmas displays along the mile-long Myrtle Beach Boardwalk between Phyler Park and the Second Avenue Pier through December 23, 2022.

The Great Christmas Light Show is a drive-through with more than two million lights sparkling along a 1.5-mile drive that starts at North Myrtle Beach Park and the Sports Complex. It’s open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights through December 30, 2022.  

Lights of Christmas

Lights are the holiday stars illuminating the animals at Christmas at the Zoo, open through December 30, 2022 at the Indianapolis Zoo in Indiana. Besides this was the first zoo in the United States to stage a holiday lights event back in 1967. For the 54^th edition, look for an updated sparkly Polar Pathway and a penguin encounter opportunity. 

Moreover new for 2022 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, is the Winterfest Wonders of Light Walking Trail – it takes over the Riverwalk Greenway this year. The $1.5 million addition features a collection of Smoky Mountain critters, oversized flowers, dancing snowflakes, and some pieces more than 25 feet tall.

Across the pond, the lights of Christmas are on at Leeds Castle, Maidstone, Kent, United Kingdom, through January 1, 2023. Find more than a million animated Christmas lights plus lasers and seasonal soundtracks in play in the gardens of this historic English country retreat. Discover sparkling tunnels of light, dancing waterside reflections, and trees drenched in jewel-like color. Finally pause to reflect at the mesmerizing, flickering flames in the fire garden, enjoy the larger-than-life light installations, and don’t forget to wave at Father Christmas along the way.

During the holiday season, experience the castle dressed in her festive finest – Trees dripping in iridescent silver shimmer and sparkles, extravagant décor covering the roaring fireplaces, and rooms imbued in jewel-like Christmas color.