In depth · Christmas & New Year
Christmas in Los Angeles: parades, posadas and the Rose Parade
Christmas in Los Angeles comes with palm trees and sunshine. Hollywood Boulevard hosts its famous parade, boats strung with lights circle the marina, Olvera Street walks the candlelit posadas, and the year opens with the flower-covered floats of the Rose Parade in Pasadena.
Updated October 2026
Parades on land and water
The Hollywood Christmas Parade has opened the season on Hollywood Boulevard for generations, with floats, marching bands and famous faces, traditionally on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. In December the harbour takes over: the Marina del Rey Holiday Boat Parade, organised with Los Angeles County, sends yachts and sailing boats dressed in lights around the marina, traditionally on the second Saturday of the month, with fireworks over the water.
Las Posadas on Olvera Street
For nine nights, from 16 to 24 December, Olvera Street re-enacts Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter in Bethlehem. A candlelit procession, led by costumed singers, stops at the doors of the old street’s shops and restaurants asking for lodging, and each evening ends with a piñata, champurrado and pan dulce. It is one of the city’s most moving Christmas traditions, presented by the Olvera Street merchants and open to all.
Lights and Disneyland
Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge turns its oak woodland into the Enchanted Forest of Light from late November into January, with timed tickets, and the Los Angeles Zoo holds its own LA Zoo Lights; both publish their dates in the autumn. In Anaheim, the Disneyland Resort celebrates the holidays from 13 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, when Sleeping Beauty Castle becomes a winter castle glittering with lights.
New Year’s Eve and the Rose Parade
Downtown’s Grand Park hosts the city’s biggest New Year’s Eve party, with music and a midnight countdown projected onto City Hall; details are announced in December. The next morning belongs to Pasadena. The 138th Rose Parade sets off along Colorado Boulevard on Friday 1 January 2027, with floats covered entirely in flowers, seeds and bark, marching bands and horses on a 5.5-mile route, followed by the 113th Rose Bowl Game.
Our advice: the parade starts at 8am Pacific time. Reserve grandstand seats through the Tournament of Roses, or book a Pasadena hotel on the route well ahead.
Questions and answers
When is the Hollywood Christmas Parade?
Traditionally on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, on Hollywood Boulevard.
When is Las Posadas on Olvera Street?
Nightly from 16 to 24 December.
When is the 2027 Rose Parade?
On Friday 1 January 2027 in Pasadena.
Join the conversation
Spent Christmas in Los Angeles? Share your favourite parade, lights or New Year’s Day.
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Dates are from the organisers’ and official tourism sites, read in October 2026. Where a 2026 date is not yet published we describe the tradition only. Check the official sites before you travel.