Christmas in Newport, RI is a Month-Long Tradition

  • October 1, 2013
Christmas in Newport, RI is a Month-Long Tradition
Now in its 43rd year, the event makes for an extraordinary holiday respite in a quaint New England coastal town. White lights illuminate homes, shops, restaurants and the bustling wharves in a ritual meant to represent candlelight from days gone by, when families would wait for their loved ones to return home from their seafaring adventures.

Holiday events are tailored to entertain every age, including tree lightings, Polar Express train rides, historical tours, shopping strolls, concert and dances, Victorian-era Christmas festivities, culinary fêtes, arts and cultural celebrations and more. Where else but Newport can you gaze at a 16-foot working gingerbread lighthouse?

Newport NutcrackerIsland Moving Co.'s Newport Nutcracker at Rosecliff. Photo credit: Thomas Palmer

Spectacular decorations, music and tours bring the Gilded Age Christmas spirit to life at the legendary Newport Mansions (The Breakers, Elms and Marble House). Poinsettias, evergreens, wreaths and fresh flowers disguise the remarkable properties as winter wonderlands. Heart-warming events, like the lauded Newport Nutcracker, Island Moving Company's rendition of the classic holiday ballet, will leave visitors with visions of sugar-plums dancing in their heads. Holiday evenings at The Breakers will be hosted on special dates throughout the season, which include live holiday music, sweets, eggnog and cider. Christmas in Newport proves it is indeed, the most wonderful time of the year!

Marble House, Newport, RI winter nightMarble House. Photo credit: The Preservation Society of Newport County

Photo credit for top image: Marianne Lee