Light Up Night
By: Chelsea Berry
A Pittsburgh Christmas tradition that has been happening since 1960 is called Light up night. Every year it happens around late November with over 200,000 people attending. The whole city is filled with Christmas lights and Market square is filled with a ton of Christmas shops.
Light up night is Pittsburgh’s kick off to Christmas. It’s when the ice rink opens for the rest of the Christmas season. They light up the tree in Market square, the tree on the side of the Highmark building, and the tree at the City Council building. This year they’re also lighting up the 3 bridges with Christmas colors. They also always have a band there, when I was little Santa would always come on stage and they would have singers singing Christmas songs. They also always set off fireworks near the stage. Also, there’s a ton of food trucks and sweet treats throughout.
Overall, it’s definitely a great experience for families and kids. It gets everyone in the Christmas mood. It brings people together and really shows how Pittsburgh can come together as a whole. I have looked forward to Light up night every year ever since I was little. A memory I’ll never forget is when the guy taking pictures for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette took a picture of me and my cousin and we got in the newspaper in an article about Light up night. I think everyone should experience Light up night at least once in their lives.
