Holiday Lights, Ice and Action

Dazzling displays, skating rinks, doors decked in wreaths and garlands—every corner of Boston lets the holidays shine. So don the down and get out to enjoy everything this time of year has to offer.

- Cheryl Fenton

The month of December turns Boston into a wonderland of decorations, holiday music and plenty of good cheer. From Commonwealth Avenue Mall to the Seaport waterfront, the glow of holiday lights is everywhere. It officially begins at the annual lighting ceremony on Boston Common. Come Dec. 5, Boston’s mayor stands alongside Santa and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as he sets the city’s most magnificent Christmas tree and 80-plus others ablaze with sparkling lights. The tree, an annual gift from Nova Scotia, commemorates help given by Boston citizens after a devastating 1917 ship explosion in Halifax Harbor. The lighting is bookended by a free ice skating show on the Frog Pond at 5 pm and fireworks over the Common.

Blink!, Faneuil Hall Marketplace’s extravaganza of 350,000 sparkling LEDs synchronized to holiday music can be experienced from Dec. 3 to Jan. 1. The free sound and light show runs every half hour, 4:30-10 pm, and is a quintessential New England experience that involves strolling around the open-air marketplace. The 85-foot fir tree is the largest decorated tree in the northeast and is dressed up to provide a proper holiday display in style. (4 South Market Street, Boston)