Even though the weather outside isn’t frightful, Denver traditions trudge on or are replaced with newer ways to celebrate the holidays. Early versions of the Mile High Season celebrated the holidays, including caroling around the city and decorating Christmas trees. In 1917, the city set up a 2-ton Municipal Christmas tree adorned with lights and decorations at the Bates Triangle near Colfax (the future site of the Vorhees fountain in Civic Center Park).
Now you can find a Municipal-sized Christmas tree in front of Union Station, among other locations around town.
The first-ever Santa’s Parade of Lights and Christmas Street Festival was a joyful five-day celebration that brought together Denver residents, co-hosted by Downtown Denver Inc. and KHOW Radio.
The parade route started at Larimer Square and stretched to 16th Street, then to Broadway, with each night alive with nine floats, 15 marching units, and entertainers, creating a vibrant community spectacle.
The first Parade of Lights featured an impressive display of 750,000 miniature Christmas lights, showcasing Denver’s early holiday spirit and creativity.
Twenty years before the Parade of Lights, the Denver Retail Merchants Association held a parade for the arrival of Santa Claus. The parade included 30 giant storybook character balloons, seven bands, clowns and marchers. Some of the balloons included Captain Hook, a large balloon with fairytale characters hanging out the windows, a winding serpent, and Papa Bear with his dish of porridge.
The parade on December 3, 1955, was frigid, with temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit, but the hearty crowd and 150 participants trudged through the chilly weather.
“There they stood muffled in scarfs, thick coats, itchy underwear, rubber boots, ear-muffs, and winter hats of all descriptions.
Before the parades, downtown Denver used to attract prospective shoppers with elaborate decorations as they walked from one side of 16th Street to the other end. When the May Co. ruled the retail scene, it opened an ice rink near its main store on 16th and Tremont, where 16th Street between Tremont and Court Place is now the Sheraton’s current residence.
The rink’s dedication in 1957, attended by 1,000 Denverites and featuring a 23-piece orchestra, marked a highlight in the city’s holiday traditions, emphasizing community involvement and entertainment.
The opening of the ice rink was a tradition for nearly 30 years, but, like all good things, it ended in 1986 when the May Co. shut down the rink due to high maintenance costs.
The shift to holding parades instead of elaborate decorations in 1954 was driven by controversy over religious representation, leading Denver’s merchants to focus on inclusive parades to celebrate the holiday season.
The first Blossoms of Light celebration at Denver’s Botanic Gardens was back in 1985. More than 360 strands of lights decorated the trees in the outside garden. The Blossoms of Light also included visiting indoor exhibits with temperatures in the 80s and humidity between 70 and 80 percent, a brief respite from cold Mile High temperatures. As a part of the tropical Christmas theme, a 50-piece exhibit by Bahamian artist Amos Ferguson was featured.
Elitch Gardens celebrates the holidays with its Luminova festival, where visitors can ride a limited number of rides and pick up holiday gifts as they walk through the light-shrouded amusement park. But Elitch’s also had a tradition of Christmas-themed plays when it resided back in its Northwest Denver home on 38th and Tennyson.
The Denver Zoo Lights is a relatively new tradition compared to the Parade of Lights and Blossom of Lights, first started in 1995 under the moniker of Wild Lights. Attendees can take in the millions of lights decorating the Denver Zoo in a loop, with holiday treats and drinks.
One last tradition, long before Elf-on-a-Shelf was the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Santa Tracker: According to the Aspen Daily News, the tradition of tracking Sant’s progress started over a typo when Sears-Roebuck plan an add in The (Colorado Springs) Gazette telling kids to dial a number if they wanted to talk to Santa, but the number was incorrect and rang the operations center of NORAD.
When Col. Harry Shoup answered the call and heard a child asking for Santa, he responded with “I’ll check the radars.”
Since then, countless children and parents have called or tracked Santa on his journey.
