In Murfreesboro, the holidays happen on the historic Square around the Rutherford County Courthouse. Main Street Murfreesboro puts on two evenings downtown, and the City's Christmas parade finishes a block from the Square. Below are the 2026 dates set so far, followed by a few events in Smyrna, La Vergne and Lebanon. Details can shift late in the season, so look at the organizer's page on the day.
Sip, Shop and Stroll, Holiday Edition: Friday, November 6
- Date:
- Friday, November 6, 2026
- Time:
- 5:00 to 8:00 pm
- Place:
- Historic downtown Murfreesboro
Downtown gets an early start. Main Street Murfreesboro's Sip, Shop and Stroll Downtown After 5, Holiday Edition is Friday, November 6, 2026, from 5:00 to 8:00 pm: an evening of holiday shopping and festive storefronts in historic downtown.
When is the Murfreesboro tree lighting in 2026?
- Date:
- Friday, December 4, 2026
- Time:
- 6:00 pm (stage program 6:30 pm)
- Place:
- Rutherford County Courthouse, Public Square
The Rutherford County Christmas tree is lit at Celebrate Christmas Downtown, held on the first Friday night of December. In 2026 that falls on Friday, December 4. Free children's activities and carriage rides begin at 6:00 pm. The stage program follows at 6:30, and Santa lights the tree during it, then heads into the courthouse for free photos from 7:30 to 8:30 pm. Main Street also lists caroling, a live nativity and an hour of choir music, dancing and acting.
Parking on the Public Square closes at 4:00 pm that day. The Civic Plaza and County Judicial garages stay open.
In December 2025, Main Street Murfreesboro bought new string lights for the Square, and the city's Street Department hung them overhead. If they are up again this year, walk a lap of the Square once the program ends.
When is the Murfreesboro Christmas Parade in 2026?
- Date:
- Sunday, December 13, 2026
- Time:
- 2:00 to 4:00 pm
- Place:
- East Main by MTSU to Walnut Street, one block past the Square
The City of Murfreesboro holds its Christmas Parade on the second Sunday of December, which is December 13 this year, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. Floats, bands and dancers travel down Main Street, starting from East Main by MTSU and finishing on Walnut Street just past the Square. This year's theme is "A Country Christmas." For parking, the city points spectators to the Judicial Center garage on North Maple Street and the Civic Plaza garage on West Vine Street.
It is an afternoon parade. By the time the crowd gets home, dusk is coming on, and so are the porch and roofline lights along the way.
More lights within a drive of Murfreesboro
- Smyrna Christmas Tree Lighting: the Smyrna Train Depot tree is lit on Tuesday, November 24, 2026, between 6:00 and 8:00 pm, with music, treats and performances. See the Town of Smyrna page.
- Date:
- Tuesday, November 24, 2026
- Time:
- 6:00 to 8:00 pm
- Place:
- Smyrna Train Depot
- La Vergne Spirit of Christmas Parade: Saturday, December 5, 2026, from City Hall to Veterans Memorial Park, where the tree lighting follows. The city's parade page sets the start for 3:00 pm, while its event calendar still lists 5:00 to 6:00 pm, so check the parade page before you go.
- Date:
- Saturday, December 5, 2026
- Time:
- 3:00 pm on the parade page, 5:00 to 6:00 pm on the city event calendar
- Place:
- City Hall to Veterans Memorial Park
- Smyrna Christmas Parade: Sunday afternoon, December 6, 2026, at 2:00 pm on Lowry Street. See the town's annual events page.
- Date:
- Sunday, December 6, 2026
- Time:
- 2:00 pm
- Place:
- Lowry Street
- The Dancing Lights of Christmas: Lebanon's drive-through show set to music opens November 7, 2026 and runs every night through January 3, 2027, starting at 5 pm, at the Wilson County Fairgrounds. See the show's site.
- Date:
- November 7, 2026 to January 3, 2027
- Time:
- nightly from 5 pm
- Place:
- Wilson County Fairgrounds
For decorated houses, a slow loop through the subdivisions near home after dark is as good a plan as any. Keep to low beams and leave room at driveways and mailboxes. The Nashville-area holiday lights calendar keeps every confirmed date for the region in one place.
Two Fridays and a Sunday
Both downtown nights fall on Fridays, and the parade lands on a Sunday afternoon, so a Murfreesboro December means short evenings out and getting home around dark. A roofline of Christmas lights that switch on at sunset is already lit when the car pulls into the driveway, and nobody has to climb a ladder in the cold to plug in a strand.
From the Square to your street
Santa lights the Courthouse tree on December 4, so anyone hoping for a lit roofline by then can send a quote request and read about local houses on the Murfreesboro permanent lighting page.