Tree-lightings, from Rock Center to The Grove

Honolulu City Lights, which includes a tree, wreath displays and gingerbread houses, kicks off Dec. 5 and lasts a month. Opening night festivities typically draw 75,000 people. Later in the month, on Dec. 13, the 24,000 runners taking part in the Honolulu Marathon will run right past the Christmas display at Honolulu Hale, which is the name of the City Hall there.

Christmas at Biltmore, in Asheville, N.C., is a tradition that goes back to Christmas Eve 1895. That’s when its owner, George Vanderbilt, officially opened the massive home to friends and family. This season’s holiday display at the estate, which is a National Historic Landmark, features dozens of decorated trees and runs through Jan. 3.

In Riverside, Calif., The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa offers its annual Festival of Lights Nov. 27-Jan. 3, with 3.5 million lights, carriage rides and Santa visits. The elaborate lighting display has turned the inn into a must-see attraction for the holidays in Southern California. Tens of thousands of people attend the lighting ceremony each year and many more come through the grounds before the festival ends The lights depict toy soldiers, elves, swans, Santa and many other symbols of Christmas.

Arkansas showcases a trail of holiday lights around the state in six regions and dozens of communities, with details at http://www.arkansas.com/things-to-do/trail-of-lights/. But Arkansas’ most famous lighting display is now in Florida, at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. A lawsuit forced Jennings Osborne to stop putting up his massive home lighting display in Little Rock in 1994, but Disney brought the display to Disney World, where visitors can see it lit up every night except Nov. 22, through Jan. 4, from dusk to when the park closes.

Chicago’s 96th annual tree-lighting ceremony takes place Nov. 25, at Daley Plaza. A Christkindlmarket inspired by the centuries-old Nuremberg Christmas market in Germany opens there that day as well.

In Atlanta, the 62nd lighting of Macy’s Department Store’s Great Tree takes place Nov. 26 at the Lenox Square Mall.

Springfield, Mass., hosts the drive-through Bright Nights in Forest Park Nov. 25-Dec. 6, with colorful light displays depicting a Victorian village, Peter Pan, Noah’s Ark, and an American flag among other things.

In Des Moines, Iowa, the city hosts a nighttime drive-through lighting display called “Jolly Holiday Lights” at Water Works Park, Nov. 24-Jan. 2. With a three-mile route, it’s the state’s largest light display and it benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The Oglebay Resort & Conference Center in Wheeling, W.Va., hosts the Winter Festival of Lights, Nov. 13-Jan. 3. Oglebay says it is one of the nation’s largest such attractions, covering more than 300 acres on a six-mile drive. Favorite displays from past years include the Snowflake Tunnel, a candy cane wreath, and a poinsettia wreath and candle.

In Idaho, the Coeur d’Alene Resort decorates a 161-foot-tall living tree, which the resort claims is the tallest living Christmas tree, decorated with ornaments that are 10 feet tall. A holiday light show at the resort includes 1.5 million lights on the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene, Nov. 27-Jan. 1.