Issue 17/2025, News
Christmas boat parades in the USA and Europe, or Christmas on the water
Dec
Christmas boat parades are an unusual way of celebrating Christmas. Hundreds of illuminated yachts, gondolas and kayaks sail through bays and rivers in the USA and Europe, turning the water into a fairytale stage full of lights and festive decorations. Discover the most beautiful Christmas boat parades!
Christmas boat parades, 117 years of tradition
The tradition of Christmas boat parades in the United States goes back more than a hundred years. It all began with simple initiatives by local sailing communities that wanted to brighten dark winter evenings. Today these are major events involving hundreds of yachts, boats and kayaks, and what makes the biggest impression is their diversity: some choose elegant minimalism (the outline of the hull and railings, evenly spaced garlands on the masts), others build entire scenes on deck with Santas, reindeer, Christmas trees and illuminated signs.
Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade
One of the oldest and most recognisable boat parades in the USA is considered to be the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade in California, whose roots date back to 1908. It began with gondolier John Scarpa. In 1907 he decorated a gondola with Japanese lanterns, and a year later led the first small procession of nine vessels. Today the event has a fully Christmas-themed setting and lasts five evenings. This year, from 17 to 21 December, more than 100 vessels sailed each evening on an approximately 14-mile loop through Newport Harbor, starting and ending at the Tip of Lido Isle.
The entire event is enhanced by the Ring of Lights, illuminations on land. Rooftops, facades, balconies and piers around the bay glow, closing the circle of light.
Marine Industries Christmas Boat Parade
Equally spectacular is the Marine Industries Christmas Boat Parade on Naples Bay in Florida. This is not only a boat parade, but also a competition, held each year with a different theme around which crews prepare their decorations. This year’s edition took place on 13 December under the motto Christmas Carnival, so fairground associations dominated on the water, from bands of lights like those on a carousel to strongly highlighted hull outlines and large decorations on superstructures, clearly visible from afar.
Christmas Ships
Christmas Ships in Portland represent a completely different model of boat parade than classic port events. The tradition dates back to 1954 and is described as the longest continuously operating illuminated boat parade in the USA. Instead of a single evening or a fixed route repeated day after day, the season here consists of many cruises: over 15 December nights, a flotilla of around 80 vessels sails on the Columbia and Willamette rivers and appears in different parts of the city each day. As a result, the lights of the parade travel along Portland so that everyone can enjoy the view.
Christmas boat parades in Europe
Although the United States leads the way in organising Christmas boat parades, similar events also take place in Europe, usually on a smaller scale and very urban in character, fitted into canals, rivers and ports. In Venice, the Christmas event on the water takes the form of the Santa Claus Water Parade (Parata Acquea di Babbo Natale), which in 2025 was held for the eleventh time. Hundreds of participants dressed as Santas sailed in traditional Venetian boats decorated for Christmas, creating a red-and-white procession against the backdrop of palace facades and the bridges of the Grand Canal.
In Città di Castello, meanwhile, a Santa Claus kayaking descent (Babbo Natale in canoa) has been held for 44 years. The event takes place on a special day, 25 December, when around twenty kayakers dressed as Santas paddle down the Tiber in craft illuminated with torches, candles and small lights.
On the Navigli canals in Milan, a Christmas concert on the water (Concerto Galleggiante di Natale) is held. On 13 December, the eighth edition took place. Performers play and sing on a boat moving along the canal, while the audience listens from bridges and embankments. The sound carries along the buildings, which form a narrow corridor. Around them moves a flotilla of kayaks and canoes with discreet lights that add charm to the entire event.
Regardless of scale, boat parades share a common purpose: for a few hours they turn a river, canal or bay into a stage on which we can see Christmas from a completely different perspective.
main photo: Tony Webster/Wikimedia
