Christmas Boat Parades
From Marina del Rey to Newport Beach, the waters off the Southern California coast sparkle with lights as festively decorated boats parade through the night. Some cities have just one parade, but places like Long Beach have two different celebrations and Newport Beach and Dana Point run the same parade on multiple nights. Chances are that if you're traveling to an ocean-front city, it will host at least one boat parade this holiday season.
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The Nutcracker Ballet
Perhaps one of the most famous holiday traditions in the world, The Nutcracker ballet is a time-honored celebration of the Christmas season. Almost every ballet company and school in the region (as well as several touring companies in town) put on some version of The Nutcracker ballet for the holidays. While some last just one or two nights, others run for the entire month of December, like the famous Los Angeles Ballet performance.