Anchorage may be correctly named the City of Lights, especially during the holiday months! When darkness starts to descend during the winter, the entire town breaks out its cheerful lights to decorate the city. Anchorage is filled with bright colors during all of the dark, cold months! Christmas in Anchorage is truly something special.
Anchorage has been known for many years as "The City of Lights and Flowers." It's at its best, truly, at Christmas!
This awesome title was crafted and curated by Anchorage Downtown Partnership, as a way of highlighting all of the beautiful things about Anchorage year-round. The lights are a great way to herald in the coming winter!
In the winter, Anchorage Downtown Partnership encouraged the downtown area to banish the darkness and ring in the festivities of the holidays by decorating their businesses.
This idea took off throughout Anchorage, with many businesses and even homes stringing their lights up early, as soon as the days start to get a little darker. The whole town is awash in colored and white lights, creating a sense of cheer as you go about the city.
Every neighborhood gets into the festivities, and you will see many houses draped in beautiful lights!
It's especially charming after a large snowstorm when the lights peek out through the snow. Driving through neighborhoods can cheer you up when you head into work before the sun comes up, and drive home in darkness!
During the Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony in the Town Square, all the trees are draped with lights and lit up.
The most exciting part is the large Christmas tree decorated with lights and even a star on top! Once this Anchorage Christmas event takes place, you'll see the rest of downtown truly get into the festivities.
Spend a day patronizing the local businesses downtown while you do your holiday shopping and make other preparations for Christmas in Anchorage.
This is a great way to support local Alaskans and get into the Christmas cheer! There are also lots of delicious restaurants downtown to cap off your day of shopping and they also put up lights and beautiful holiday decorations.
This is a fun tradition to get behind, and Alaskans get playful with the lights!
You'll even find bonfires during skating parties at Westchester Lagoon and ice lantern trails in Eagle River Nature Center during Winter Solstice. The whole area celebrates with lights during our darkest part of the year!
If you have the time this Anchorage Christmas season, you should cruise around the city looking at all the beautiful light displays!
Even though the Anchorage Downtown Partnership isn't doing an official "City of Lights" event this year, the tradition still continues informally! It's a lovely way to get into the holiday spirit each year.
Have you been to Anchorage when it's all lit up as the City of Lights? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below! If you haven't ever been, this video will give you a little sneak peek of what it's like (although nothing is better than in-person when it comes to Christmas lights!):
If you're looking for a fabulous dinner after checking out the lights in this beautiful city, head on over to a restaurant in Anchorage that serves food so good you'll swear you're down south! Then stay in this beautiful luxury retreat downtown with ocean views.
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