From Sonja Cohen,
Your Guide to Boston.
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There’s something sort of magical about standing outside on a cool night, surrounded by strangers all eagerly anticipating the same thing—a tree lighting. It brings back a bit of the childhood wonder and enthusiasm about the holidays that so often gets lost in the shuffle of consumerism and planning. Boston has three separate lighting ceremonies, one in the North End, one in the Back Bay, and one in the Boston Common.

North End, Christopher Columbus Park

Kick off the season at the Holiday Lighting at Christopher Columbus Park in the North End on Monday, November 20, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. A total of 50,000 bulbs will light up all 260 feet of the park’s trellises and will stay lit until April 1, 2007. Decorations will also include lighted pine boughs to highlight the Rose Kennedy Garden and decorated trees at the circle near Tia’s and the Marriott Long Wharf Hotel.

The free celebration will feature performances by Street Magic and Children of the North End Music and Performing Arts Center. Donated refreshments will include Mike’s Pastry, Starbucks coffee and hot cocoa, treats from the Marriot Long Wharf, and Legal Sea Foods clam chowder. The event is sponsored by the Friends of Christopher Columbus Park and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department.

Back Bay, Copley Square

The first of the official tree lightings in Boston is the Copley Square Tree Lighting on Wednesday, November 29, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sponsored by the Friends of Copley Square, this event features the Salvation Army band and choir, caroling, and more. Mayor Thomas M. Menino will be in attendance for the official countdown and lighting of the Copley Square tree.

Boston Common

If you’re looking for a big, glitzy ceremony, head down to the Boston Common for the City of Boston’s 65th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting on Thursday, November 30, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. There’s plenty of family entertainment and usually a few promotional freebies to be had, such as egg nog or candy canes.

The celebration on the Common will feature performers from Nova Scotia and New England with WCVB TV-5 providing live coverage of the event. Entertainment will include Irish tenor Ronan Tynan, 2004 Boston POPSearch winner Tracy Silva, the Boston Children’s Chorus, and a fireworks display. Children will also have the opportunity to meet Clara, the Mouse, and the Nutcracker from the Boston Ballet. And those who know how to ice skate can go skating on the Frog Pond while they listen to the nearby stage performances (see website for admission and hours).

The highlight of the evening comes when Mayor Menino joins Santa Claus to throw the switch that will light up holiday decorations throughout Boston Common and the Public Garden, including the city’s official Christmas tree. The Christmas tree is a 42-foot, 50-year-old white spruce donated by Mr. and Mrs. Alan Broome of New Ross, Lunenberg County, Nova Scotia. The annual Boston Common holiday display includes more than 80 lighted trees.

This will be the fifth year that Nova Scotia has joined the City of Boston to present the Christmas tree on the Common. Nova Scotians have given a tree to Boston for 35 years as thanks for relief efforts following the December 6, 1917, explosion of a munitions ship in Halifax Harbor, when Boston responded with a train full of supplies and emergency personnel within 24 hours.

Directly after the Boston Common tree lighting, Mayor Menino will join people over on Arlington Street for the lighting of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.

The event is sponsored by WCVB TV-5, Magic 106.7 FM, the Province of Nova Scotia, Boston Can Share sponsor KeySpan Energy Delivery, and in-kind sponsors NStar and H.P. Hood.

Holiday Lighting Events at a Glance

• Holiday Lighting at Christopher Columbus Park, November 20, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Square Tree Lighting, November 29, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• City of Boston’s Official Holiday Tree Lighting, November 30, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

For more information on the Boston Parks and Recreation Department’s holiday tree lightings, call (617) 635-4505.