What dates do Christmas lights go up in New York?
\nShine Bright Only at Hudson Yards<\/p>\n
Now open through January 7<\/a><\/p>\n Two million twinkling white lights adorn Hudson Yards for the shopping center\u2019s annual Shine Bright event.\u00a0The display includes\u00a0115 miles of string lights, 725 evergreen trees dressed to create a gleaming forest, and a massive 32-foot hot air balloon centerpiece.<\/p>\n Harlem Holiday Lights<\/p>\n Begins Thursday, November 18<\/a><\/p>\n Harlem\u00a0is\u00a0kicking off the holiday season with NYC’s only parade of lights on Tuesday, November 18. After that, you\u00a0can see the beautiful lights sparkling throughout the neighborhood.<\/p>\n Lightscape at Brooklyn Botanic Garden<\/p>\n Open November 21\u2013January 4<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Stroll through this illuminated trail of art with more than\u00a0a million lights, plus dazzling colors and coordinated music. Be sure to snap a photo in the iconic Winter Cathedral.<\/p>\n Bronx Zoo Holiday Light Show<\/p>\n Open November 21\u2013January 4<\/a><\/p>\n Expect the Bronx Zoo\u00a0to\u00a0dazzle with\u00a0400\u00a0wildlife\u00a0lanterns representing\u00a0100\u00a0species.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Dyker Heights<\/p>\n Typically\u00a0begins the week after Thanksgiving<\/a><\/p>\n Most of the homeowners\u2014and professional decorating companies\u2014hang their Christmas lights and decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving. Go anytime between dusk and 9pm if you plan to travel by foot. The decor usually stays up until the end of the first week of January.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bryant Park<\/p>\n Tuesday, December 2 at 5:30pm<\/a><\/p>\n Holiday fun is already well underway here with ice skating and a large market. But you should mark your calendar for December 2 for a special tree lighting ceremony at the Bank of America Winter Village.<\/p>\n The Seaport\u00a0<\/p>\n Tuesday,\u00a0December\u00a02 at 7pm<\/a><\/p>\n The Seaport will turn on its holiday sparkle\u00a0during a ceremony on Tuesday,\u00a0December 2 from 6 to 8pm. Expect a drum line, dueling pianos, hot drinks and a tree lighting ceremony at 7pm.<\/p>\n Rockefeller Center<\/p>\n Wednesday,\u00a0December 3 at 10pm<\/a><\/p>\n After a\u00a0star-studded light-up night ceremony on Wednesday, December 3, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree will be lit for the holiday season. Light-up activities run from 7 to 10pm, with the tree typically lighting up just before 10pm. After that, the tree will\u00a0stay lit daily from 5am to midnight.\u00a0On Christmas Eve, the tree is lit for 24 hours and on New Year\u2019s Eve it is lit from 5am to 9pm. The tree goes dark for the season\u00a0in mid-January.<\/p>\n Central Park\u00a0<\/p>\n Thursday,\u00a0December 4 at 5:30pm<\/a><\/p>\n For more than 25 years, the Central Park Conservancy has been draping the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center in holiday lights to ring in the season.\u00a0Head to the northeastern part of Central Park\u00a0to see it.\u00a0Light-up festivities include an evening of carol singing, seasonal activities and, of course, hot chocolate. As is tradition, the festivities wrap up with the lighting of a flotilla of trees on the Harlem Meer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dumbo Archway Plaza<\/p>\n Head to the Dumbo Archway for photos with Santa, hot cocoa, live music, animated projections, and a tree lighting ceremony.<\/p>\n Jamaica, Queens<\/p>\n Friday, December 5 at 7pm<\/a><\/p>\n The largest Christmas tree lighting in Queens will happen on Rockaway Boulevard. See the Grand Christmas tree illumination on Friday, then check out Parade on Rockaway the following day.\u00a0<\/p>\n Madison Square Park\u00a0<\/p>\n Tuesday, December 9 at 5pm<\/a><\/p>\n Enjoy festive music during this time-honored tree lighting which celebrates its 113th anniversary this year.\u00a0Find the 42-foot concolor fir tree at the park\u2019s Northern Reflecting Pool; you can\u2019t miss it!\u00a0<\/p>\n Washington Square Park<\/p>\n Thursday, December 11 at 6pm<\/a><\/p>\n Framed perfectly inside the park\u2019s famous arch, Washington Square Park\u2019s beautiful tree is a sight to behold.\u00a0If you miss the tree lighting, you can see the\u00a0beautifully lit 45-foot tree throughout the holiday season, lit from 4pm to 1am daily throughout December.<\/p>\n Menorah lightings<\/p>\n December 14\u201322<\/a><\/p>\n NYC is home to two massive menorahs which will be lit up during Hanukkah.\u00a0<\/p>\n More Christmas fun in NYC<\/p>\n In addition to\u00a0being dazzled all the beautiful lights, make the most of this holiday season by\u00a0admiring\u00a0incredible gingerbread displays<\/a>,\u00a0seeing a festive show<\/a>, going\u00a0ice skating<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0shopping local<\/a>. Here\u2019s our\u00a0full guide to the holiday season<\/a>\u00a0in New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2018Tis the season for New York City\u2019s glittering holiday lights, bringing some much-needed holiday cheer across the five…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":388421,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,10336,15291,18634,15290,10784,10782,18625,10785,18626,10783,18627,18628,37720,99536,185180,185179,37719,405,403,18632,5226,5225,5228,5227,1072,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-388420","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-categories-things-to-do","10":"tag-dating-good-for-date-night","11":"tag-family-kids-good-for-kids","12":"tag-good-for-good-for-couples","13":"tag-good-for-good-for-going-in-a-group","14":"tag-good-for-good-for-going-solo","15":"tag-good-for-good-for-going-with-friends","16":"tag-good-for-good-for-locals","17":"tag-good-for-good-for-taking-parents","18":"tag-good-for-good-for-tourists","19":"tag-good-for-vibe-beautiful","20":"tag-good-for-vibe-outdoors","21":"tag-good-for-vibe-quirky","22":"tag-good-for-vibe-romantic","23":"tag-holidays-christmas","24":"tag-holidays-hanukkah","25":"tag-more-free","26":"tag-new-york","27":"tag-new-york-city","28":"tag-news-events-festivals","29":"tag-newyork","30":"tag-newyorkcity","31":"tag-ny","32":"tag-nyc","33":"tag-things-to-do","34":"tag-united-states","35":"tag-united-states-of-america","36":"tag-unitedstates","37":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","38":"tag-us","39":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Lightscape](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763501122_9_image.webp.webp\")
\nPhotograph: Liz LigonWinter Cathedral by Mandylights
<\/p>\n![\"Bryant](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763501133_943_image.webp.webp\")
\nPhotograph: Shutterstock
<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/media.timeout.com\/images\/106057388\/image.webp\")
\nPhotograph: Courtesy of Parade on Rockaway
<\/p>\n