Nubble (Cape Neddick) lighthouse lit up for the holiday season.
Lighting of Cape Neddick Light, or Nubble Lighthouse, and Lobster Trap Christmas Trees Illuminate the Region During the Holiday Season
During the holiday season in New England, lighthouses are adorned with wreaths along the coast, while some feature decorated lights to illuminate their towers. Nubble Lighthouse, also called Cape Neddick Light, is one of the most decorated beacons on the coast of Maine. The tower and the adjoining keeper’s building are decorated with unique lights during a special festival, held on the weekend after Thanksgiving, known as the “Lighting of the Nubble.” At dusk, the lighthouse illuminates each evening until the holiday season ends. It is a great tourist attraction and a unique attraction for the locals. Check out this great annual tradition if you’re in the area, and join the locals for fun and festivities! Santa usually shows up as well.
What? You can’t make it to this holiday celebration? Don’t like the cold? No problem, there is also a “Lighting of the Nubble” celebration in July, six months later each year!
Brightly lit holiday tree made of lobster traps and fishing gear displays in front of lighted Nubble lighthouse for the Christmas season.
Let’s get back to the current holiday season. There’s another more recent tradition sprouting along the New England seacoast where coastal communities are engaged in friendly competition in building holiday Christmas trees made of old-fashioned wooden lobster traps and fishing gear, or wireframe lobster traps and gear. Some communities boast of having the tallest, while others boast of the most decorative. Most are just happy to create a local, joyous tourist site, like the one near Nubble Lighthouse, in honor of those who make a living by the sea. Decorated traps are erected into a large, familiar conical shape, and most are lit at night for visitors to enjoy.
You’ll also find, at Sohier Park, where you would enjoy excellent close-up views of Nubble Light, a lobster trap Christmas tree made of old wooden lobster traps and fishing gear that also lights up in the evening to join the beacon’s illumination. It is located in the parking lot of Fox’s Lobster House restaurant. For those who want to look around, you’ll also find lobster trap holiday trees in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where the tradition was born nearly 20 years ago, and in Kennebunk, Maine, by the fire station, for starters.
Have a wonderful and safe holiday season, and take a drive to enjoy the lights! Here are some Nubble Lighthouse photos.
Enjoy!
Allan Wood
Books to Explore
New England’s Haunted Lighthouses
New England’s Haunted Lighthouses:
Ghostly Legends and Maritime Mysteries
Discover the mysteries of the haunted lighthouses of New England! Uncover ghostly tales of lingering keepers, victims of misfortune or local shipwrecks, lost souls, ghost ships, and more. Many of these accounts begin with actual historical events that later lead to unexplained incidents.
Immerse yourself in the tales associated with these iconic beacons!
The Rise and Demise of the Largest Sailing Ships
The Rise and Demise of the Largest Sailing Ships:
Stories of the Six and Seven-Masted Coal Schooners of New England.
In the early 1900s, New England shipbuilders constructed the world’s largest sailing ships amid social and political reforms. These giants were the ten original six-masted coal schooners and one colossal seven-masted vessel, built to carry massive quantities of coal and building supplies, and measured longer than a football field! This book, rich in color and vintage images, showcases the historical accounts that followed these mighty ships.
Available also from bookstores in paperback, hardcover, and as an eBook for all devices.
Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions in Southern New England
Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Southern New England:
Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts
This book provides memorable human interest stories from each of the 92 lighthouses. You can explore plenty of indoor and outdoor coastal attractions, including whale-watching excursions, lighthouse tours, windjammer sailing tours, parks, museums, and even lighthouses where you can stay overnight. You’ll also find plenty of stories of hauntings around lighthouses.
Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions in Northern New England
Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Northern New England:
New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont
This book provides memorable human interest stories from each of the 76 lighthouses. It also describes and provides contact information for numerous indoor and outdoor coastal attractions and tours. These include whale watching, lighthouse tours, unique parks, museums, and lighthouses where you can stay overnight. There are also stories of haunted lighthouses in these regions.
Copyright © Allan Wood Photography; do not reproduce without permission. All rights reserved.
American Lighthouse Foundation
Join, Learn, and Support The American Lighthouse Foundation