CELEBRATIONS • December

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting
Manhattan
1st week in December
Rockefeller Plaza, between 49th and 50th Streets

Half a million spectators gather to herald the holiday season with the ceremonial lighting of New York's Chirstmas tree, an 80-foot Norway spruce decorated with 26,000 colored lights.

For more information: Rockefeller Center Information Line, 212-632-3975.

last update: 1997

Annual TubaChristmas
Manhattan
Sunday in mid-December, late afternoon
Rockefeller Center, Skating Rink

In his book America, Charles Kuralt names TubaChristmas at Rockefeller Center as the place to be for Christmas, and while TubaChristmas takes place in 176 American cities and several European ones, the event's organizer finds this setting hard to match for Christmas spirit. 300 Tuba players gather on the ice beneath the Christmas tree for an annual concert of holiday carols. The musicians range from young children just learning the instrument to at least one 85-year old who returns year after year. Tubas of all shapes and sizes, many of them decorated with holiday lights, Christmas trees, and menorahs, make a great Christmas sight.

For more information: Rockefeller Center Information Line, 212-632-3975.

last update: 1997

Hanukkah Menorah Lighting
Manhattan and Brooklyn
Every night of Chanukkah, after nightfall
Fifth Avenue at 59th Street and Grand Army Plaza

Each evening of Hanukkah, following the sunset, ceremonial lightings of large, decorative menorahs take place throughout the city. The two largest and most public lightings are at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street in Manhattan and at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn. As the new candle is lit, spectators sing Hanukkah songs, and if it is not too cold, there is dancing as well.

last update: 1997

Virgin of Guadalupe Festival
Brooklyn
Saturday before December 12, 10 am-noon
Williamsburg, All Saints Roman Catholic Church, 115 Throop Street

This homage to Mexico's patron saint mixes a religious street procession and mass with a celebration of Mexican pueblo culture. The event begins in the church, where green and white banners announce the Feast Day and the service includes a mariachi band. A young boy dressed as Juan Diego, the Indian to whom the Virgin appeared in 1531, leads the procession. Children dressed as figures from Puebla folklore follow the saint's statue through neighborhood streets, and a masked troupe performs a dance of Mexican Indian origin, accompanied by drum and fife, probably introduced to Mexico by European colonists.

For more information: All Saints Roman Catholic Church, 718-388-1951.

last update: 1997

Parrandas
Manhattan
late December
East Harlem, El Museo del Barrio, Fifth Avenue at 104th Street

"Parrandas" is the Latin American custom of unannounced caroling. Traditionally, carolers move from house to house receiving food and cheer, gaining carolers with each stop, until a large procession of singers gather together in the town plaza. El Museo del Barrio celebrates this holiday tradition with a program of public caroling at the Museum and a surprise visit to a community organization.

For more information: El Museo del Barrio, 212-831-7272.

last update: 1997

New Year's Eve Celebration
Manhattan
December 31, dusk-after midnight
Times Square

In 1906 the New York Times sponsored the first "time ball," a promotion for its new skyscraper at the crossroads of the world, and symbolic of the time-keeping globes prevalent in American cities at the turn of the century. In 1995, more than 500,000 people from around the world gathered in Times Square to usher in the New Year, New YorkBstyle. The time-ball recently had a high-tech facelift; covered with 12,000 rhinestones and hundreds of halogen bulbs and strobe lights, the 6-foot metal sphere is lit internally with a 10,000-watt bulb and backlit with laser beams. Its descent from the sky along with revelry on the streets is a quintessential New York event.

For more information: Times Square Business Improvement District, 212-768-1560.

last update: 1997

First Night New York
Manhattan
December 31, 11:30 am-11:30 pm
20 Manhattan locations

A celebration lasting 12 hours and featuring more than 40 performances and participatory events all around midtown Manhattan offers an alternative to Times Square and other boisterous revelry. Ballet performances, ice skating shows, jazz, classical and rock concerts, and arts and crafts activities are among the offerings. Ballroom dancing at Grand Central Terminal is another. One ticket is good for all performances.

For more information: Grand Central Partnership, 212-818-1770. Also see: www.cityguidemagazine.com/nycannualevents.html

last update: 1997