I would love to know more about old fashioned Christmas walks. Thanks for message.
Thanks for your interest.

It's great to attend once or twice, but pretty much the same things happen year after year. I guess most traditions feel the same so it's not a bad thing. Not everyone dresses in costumes, but there are enough people wearing clothes that look like they stepped out of a Dicken's Carol roaming the streets of downtown. They block off five city blocks so it's safe for people to walk on the road not just the sidewalks. You have to watch out for the horse drawn sleigh though. They begin with lighting the town tree.
There's a "Town Crier" and the Mayor and his wife show up with a few dignitaries and of course Santa Claus and the Mrs. are there and spend at least three hours listening to the secret wishes of the children (and adults) who wish to share them. They're set up by the tree. I'm never very impressed with the tree, but I join the others in saying "oooh and ahhh" because it's Christmas. They arrive by the sleigh. I love the horses that pull it, but they look a bit spooked by all the commotion. I'm not usually weary around horse, but these guys don't seem to enjoy the crowd much. They where half blinds to calm them down a bit. They have a few people following behind to catch the droppings that doesn't spoil the walk for anybody.
In nearly every shop their are discounts on items and free hot cider or hot cocoa with a few festive goodies to keep you in a Christmas state of mind.
On nearly every corner, there's a different style of music from a Quartet to a small represenation of a choir to a single person with a guitar strumming Christmas tunes. Quite often, we run into people we haven't seen in ten years or more that have come out to enjoy the walk.
The first year I went, I almost joined in, but my friend was too embarrassed to permit it. My husband doesn't join me. He doesn't like large crowds. I don't go every year. I went once many years ago and then joined in again for the last three years. Last year, I took my mom with me. We missed the tree lighting by fifteen minutes. We had a good time together. We don't spend as much time on our own as we used to before her partial stroke, but she was having such a grand time we were there for over two hours. That's where she always buys her Christmas cake. There are a few markets on the go for local artisans to sell festive items and goodies.
That's pretty much it.