All over the world, many towns big and small celebrate a Christmas Festival, with roots in the Christian faith, but with an appeal as broad as Santa, or Christmas trees, or The Light that redeems from winter's dark.
Christmas Festivals are terrific fun for families, with tree-lightings, candlelight processionals, Santa arrivals, maybe even fireworks.
Below are some notable places to celebrate a Christmas Festival.
Natchitoches, Louisiana: Christmas Festival of Lights
Held in the original French colony in Louisiana (which dates to 1714); and one of the oldest holiday celebrations, started back in 1927. Parade, food fair, life entertainment, fireworks, holiday lights. Natchitoches is a small town near Shreveport, in northwest Louisiana.
North Charleston SC Christmas Festival
This one-day event, at the beginning of December, has a night parade, holiday lights, kids activities, Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Cedar City, UT: The American Children's Christmas Festival
A small-town celebration with parade, Santaland, Celebration of Trees, and more.
Santa Claus, Indiana: Christmas Festival
Naturally, any town with this name has Christmas Celebrations. (Though Santa Claus IN also has a claim to fame in summer, as home to the Holiday World theme park.) Parades, all-you-can-eat pancake breakfasts, puppet shows, festival of lights, and more.
Bethlehem, CT: Special Stamps, and Christmas Festival
Each December, thousands of people make a pilgrimage to this pretty town, to mark their Christmas mail with not only the Bethlehem postmark, but also with special rubber-stamps known as "cachets". Visit during the Bethlehem Christmas Town Festival in early December, with candlelight processional, and arrival of Santa to light a 75-foot Christmas Tree.
Pigeon Forge, TN: Dollywood - Smoky Mountain Christmas Festival
Granted, this isn't a Christmas Festival so much as the full six weeks of the holiday season at the Dollywood theme park, (just like Disney Christmas or Universal Orlando's Grinchmas). But heck, it's billed as a Christmas Festival and families will surely have fun at Babes in Toyland and other stage stage Shows, visits with Santa, Carol of the Trees (thousands of lights and pyrotechnics synchronized with music), Parade of Lights, thrill rides, etc.
UK: A Victorian Festival of Christmas
Where better than England, to get the flavor of all those Victorian traditions that still define much of our holiday season? This big Christmas Festival is at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. A cast of hundreds includes Scrooge and Queen Victoria; there's food, Victoria fairground, snow, children's Victoria games and Theatre & Puppet show, carol concert, and, a giant Christmas Market. Portsmouth is on the south coast of England, about 2 hours from London by train.
Europe: Christmas Markets
These traditional Markets in Germany, France, and other countries are definitely festive places to visit with your family in December; and some of the Markets have an accompanying Christmas Festival.
