Last night Austin officially got into the holiday spirit with the lighting of the Zilker Tree. A spectacle of 3,000 colored lights strung from the moonlight tower at Zilker Park, the tree stands 155 feet tall and will glow every night through New Year’s Eve.

Our family tradition is to enjoy an early dinner at Chuy’s. Mmmm, Classic Tex-Mex enchiladas and a Texas martini!

Afterward, we walk about a mile along Barton Springs Road and into Zilker Park to the unlit tree. The Austin Civic Wind ensemble plays Christmas tunes to set a festive mood.

Last evening was chilly and misty with rain, and I’m sure the Santa hats were not only decorative but warm.

After some genial speechifying, we all counted down from 10, the switch was thrown, and the tree bloomed with light. Cell phone cameras lifted en masse…and then the lights went out. For a minute or so, the emcee, a local news reporter, joked that the guy in charge of the lights must be sweating bullets. And then, without any ado, the tree glowed to life again, and everyone cheered.

It was time to spin!

Stand under the tree, clasp hands with your loved ones, look up, and spin, spin, spin!

The spiraling pattern of lights and the spinning make you dizzy and gleeful.

When you attend the Zilker Tree lighting ceremony (this is its 49th year), you can’t help feeling that Austin is, at heart, still the friendly small town it used to be. Sweet-spirited, all-welcoming, free of charge, and not terribly crowded, it’s a tradition we’ve enjoyed as a family for 20 years.

If you’ll be in Austin before the end of December, be sure to stop by the tree one evening and take a spin yourself.

For my past posts about the tree, click these links:
Taking a spin under the Zilker Christmas Tree, 2013
Austin’s Trail of Lights shines again, 2012
Zilker Christmas Tree meets full moon on winter solstice, 2010
Spinning under the Zilker Christmas Tree, 2008
Merry Christmas from Zilker Park!, 2007

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