Cary is a festive place, especially around the Christmas holidays. We knew before we started this adventure that Cary celebrated multiple events a year, but WOW!

The Lantern Festival is one of the most colorful and drew us in during the research phase of Cary. Our new friends invited us to tour with them. “You’re going to love it!”

And we did LOVE it!

Picture a Chinese paper lantern, but multiply that by a zillion in number and size. It’s quite grand. Part of the display is on the water where the reflection of the structure is part of the artistry. It’s breathtaking. The festival runs from Thanksgiving to mid-January.  It’s a chilly hour-long walk but fur makes it a warm and fashionable experience.

Beautiful from the start.

WOW!

Downtown Cary at Christmas is quite sweet and inclusive with both a Hannukah and Kwanzaa display. It’s worth a walking tour down Academy Street, one of the main drags to see the giant lit structures of gifts, ornaments, fountains, trees, birds, and more. Each side of the street hosts business-sponsored Christmas trees with fun themes, like a chiropractic practice with a skeleton climbing up the tree. Academy leads into the new park with colorful archways and brightly lit red cardinals. Fun fact: Red cardinals are the state bird and one of the few birds to stick around year-round, making them easy to spot in barren trees.

All a-glow.

Holiday and flag stamps sell out. I was flabbergasted when I couldn’t get stamps at the local post office. The only thing in stock were colorful pinatas. I wasn’t that particular and blurted out, “Feliz Navidad, right?”

The postal worker didn’t get it.

Feliz Navidad!

Christmas trees are tough to find a week after Thanksgiving. I was shocked to find the first, most perfect tree was $360! WHAT?!? This is the Tar Heel state, the number two grower of trees in the country. We drove a mile down the road to a smaller family-owned place with a funny name, Booger Mountain. We went for a mystifyingly scentless, seven-footer for $110,  still a lot to us compared to a beautifully, fragrant Oregon tree from the Boy Scouts in Lafayette for $90. We talked ourselves into a fake tree for next year. January sales, look out!

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? It’s a thing, so best to be sure of the company you keep before jumping into all Christmas even if the person you’re staring at is wearing a Santa hat.

However you celebrate the holiday season, may you be with family and friends filling your hearts with love and joy.

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