The 40-plus-year tradition that is the annual Victorian Candlelit Christmas will return to Hattiesburg this season, as part of a new event – the Downtown Candlelit Christmas – for even more Christmas spirit.
The events, which are sponsored by the Downtown Hattiesburg Association and the Historic Neighborhood Association, will be held at dusk on the evenings of Dec. 12 and 13 in the Hattiesburg Historic Neighborhood in the area of Walnut and Court streets. The Candlelit Christmas, which usually attracts hundreds of visitors from across the region, will offer approximately 18,000 white bags with flickering candles lining the sidewalks of the neighborhood and downtown district.
“The historic neighborhood started this in 1976 to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial, and as a way to draw attention to the renovation going on in the district,” said Andrea Saffle, executive director of the Downtown Hattiesburg Association. “That was characterized by homes built between 1884 and 1930.
“The neighborhood has changed from a declining section populated mostly by older residents to a lively, attractive neighborhood that is home to a vibrant mix of families with young children, to retirees, to everything in between. The celebration has grown from a one-day display of a few thousand candles, now to a two day-event with about 18,000 luminaries.”
Guests will be invited to travel the historic neighborhood, which will feature more than 300 homes and businesses decorated for the holidays with garlands, bows and twinkling lights. A virtual tour of the homes will be offered, with a QR code outside of each participating house that will let mobile users view the inside of the houses online.
“People can scan the code, and it will open a photo gallery of that particular home,” Saffle said.
In addition, there are 17 different windows throughout downtown that are decorated with the theme of “A Downtown Christmas Story.” Attendees can scan a QR code on their mobile devices that will link to a Facebook page where they can vote for their favorite windows.
“A lot of the holiday decorations are vintage, so everybody participates in kind of giving a nod to an old-fashioned, traditional Christmas,” Saffle said.
The Hattiesburg Civic Light Opera will also give a guided walking tour, titled “Ghosts of Christmas Past,” beginning at 6 p.m. on Dec. 12. The tour brings participants to various landmarks in downtown Hattiesburg while revisiting token characters such as Mr. Scrooge, Hattie, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Future. Tickets for the tour are $15 each and can be purchased on the HCLO’s Facebook page.
Although the usual carriage rides are canceled because of COVID-19, members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church will be caroling from 6-7:30 p.m. on Dec. 12 at the church. Several businesses will be decorated for Christmas and will offer evening hours, including but not limited to Oddfellows Gallery, McKenzie’s on Main, Walnut Square Stationery & Gifts, Main Street Books, Go Young Fashions and the SoPro Taproom.
