Newbury Street will be open to cars again by 6 p.m. on December 6. The trees on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall will still be lit in late March. Both events start in the same seven days, between Monday, November 30, and Sunday, December 6. In that week Back Bay's holiday season starts four times on four different streets: three lightings and one car-free Sunday, each run by a different group. The one that lasts longest is also the only one paid for entirely by gifts.
It helps to know who is behind each event. That explains why the start times don't line up, why one lasts a single day and another lasts a whole winter, and why the Mall display needs support from neighbors every year.
| Date, 2026 | Event | Who runs it | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon., Nov. 30, 5 to 6 p.m. | Copley Square Tree Lighting | Boston Parks and Recreation, with Friends of Copley Square, BXP, Sasaki and Fairmont Copley Plaza | A one-hour ceremony |
| Dec. 1 to 31, 5 p.m. nightly | 31 Nights of Light at the Prudential Tower | Prudential Center | One month, a new color each night |
| Thu., Dec. 3, around 8 p.m. | Lighting of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall | Friends of the Public Garden, with the City of Boston | Early December to late March |
| Sun., Dec. 6, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. | Open Newbury: Holiday Stroll | City of Boston streets team, backed by the Back Bay Association | One day |
Copley Square holds its ceremony six months after the work wrapped up
The week opens at 560 Boylston Street on Monday, November 30, at 5 p.m. The city bills the Copley Square Tree Lighting as both its annual tree lighting and the "grand reopening" of Copley Square Park. The free program includes a guided tour of the renovated square, crafts, Santa Claus and Rudolph, and music from vocalist Joelle James, the Boston Children's Chorus and the Symphonic of Emerson College. Boston Parks and Recreation hosts it with Friends of Copley Square, BXP, Sasaki and Fairmont Copley Plaza, with sponsorship from H.P. Hood and support from Drake's Cakes. When the hour ends, the crowd heads across to Fairmont Copley Plaza for cookies and photos with Santa at 6 p.m.
The "grand reopening" label is ceremonial. The park reopened in phases. The northeast triangle opened on New Year's Day 2025, and the Plaza and Raised Grove opened before the 2025 Boston Marathon. In its May 28, 2026 announcement, the city said the park was fully open, with the restored fountain on and the perimeter sidewalks finished. So November 30 marks the first holiday season in a fully finished square. The Plaza and Raised Grove that hosted this summer's programs, which we wrote about in how the reopened Copley Square changed a July week, now get a winter evening of their own.
The city's ceremony is the shortest of the four, but it opens the week, and it sets the pattern for the rest. A public agency organizes it, and private partners help pay for it.
The Pru changes color every night, on a set schedule
The next evening, the light moves above street level. Starting December 1, the top of the Prudential Tower is lit a different color each night through December 31. This is the program's 18th consecutive year. Over the month the tower lights up 31 times, for 28 local nonprofits and three holidays.
The tower lights are pre-programmed to come on at 5 p.m. Each night's partner organization can also hold a symbolic "Flip the Switch" moment in Center Court. The switch inside is ceremonial, and the timer controls the tower. The Prudential Center publishes the full list of partners on its 31 Nights of Light page. If a cause you support has a night, you'll know the date and the color ahead of time.
The Copley lighting is a single event. The Pru program runs for 31 nights, and one property owner controls the schedule and hosts the nonprofits.
The Mall stays lit until March, funded entirely by gifts
Thursday, December 3, is the night with the longest-lasting result. The city's tree lighting on Boston Common runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at 139 Tremont Street. Right after it ends, Mayor Michelle Wu joins the Friends of the Public Garden and the Committee to Light Commonwealth Avenue Mall to switch on the Mall lights, from Arlington Street to Charlesgate. The city's Mall event page puts the switch-on at 8 p.m. near 15 Commonwealth Avenue, at the Arlington Street end. You can skip the Common crowd and wait on the Mall itself.
According to the Friends of the Public Garden, the Mall's trees have been lit for the past 26 winters. The display was modeled on the lit, tree-lined boulevards of Paris. It was the idea of the late philanthropists Joan and Ted Cutler and then-Boston Parks Commissioner Justine Mee Liff, and it led to the all-volunteer Committee to Light the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. In 2022 that committee joined the Friends to form the Commonwealth Avenue Mall Enhancement Committee. The new committee works with Friends staff to raise money for the display and for year-round care of the park.
The Friends say the display is paid for entirely by individuals, foundations and corporations. Donors can sponsor one tree, a full Mall block, or any part of the display, and gifts also support the Mall's care year-round. The lights stay on from early December to late March. That's about four months, compared with one hour at Copley, one month at the Pru and one day on Newbury. The display that lasts longest also depends most on donors, and it shows up on your walk home all winter.
Newbury closes to cars for one Sunday
The week ends on Sunday, December 6, with Open Newbury: Holiday Stroll. Newbury Street is closed to cars from Berkeley Street to Massachusetts Avenue from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., along the same route as the summer series. The City of Boston's October 30 announcement says this is the stroll's third year. It closes out a 2026 Open Newbury season of nine events that involved more than 100 businesses and drew close to 100,000 participants. If the weather is bad, the stroll moves to December 13.
If you park on or near Newbury, check the restrictions:
- Parking enforcement on Newbury Street and some cross streets starts at 6 a.m., and signs will be posted.
- The Fairfield Street, Gloucester Street and Hereford Street intersections will be closed to cars.
- The other cross-street intersections stay open to traffic for public safety access and general traffic flow.
The city encourages businesses along the street to use their outdoor space for family activities, pop-up parklets and other programs. In the same announcement, Back Bay Association President Meg Mainzer-Cohen said, "We encourage neighbors and tourists alike to dine, shop, and stroll on Newbury Street and explore the rest of the Back Bay to take advantage of this event." The stroll is mainly about shopping. The street's business association backs it, and the city runs the logistics.
Planning the week on foot
All four events fall within a short walk of each other, and only two of their start times are close. Here's one way to see them all.
- Monday, Nov. 30. Get to Copley Square by 5 p.m., and plan to be at Fairmont Copley Plaza by 6. The Boston Public Library's Central Library faces the square, and its exhibition "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" runs through December 2. This week is your last chance to see it.
- Tuesday, Dec. 1, or any night that month. The tower comes on at 5 p.m. Center Court hosts the "Flip the Switch" moments, and you can see the color itself from most streets in the neighborhood.
- Thursday, Dec. 3. Head to the Arlington Street end of the Mall by about 8 p.m. The lights run west to Charlesgate, so the walk home along the Mall will be lit through March.
- Sunday, Dec. 6. Walk Newbury between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Boston Magazine's October 2026 roundup reported that byChae, at 222 Newbury Street, had opened as a café. The same roundup listed Zhu, a Chinese seafood and dim sum restaurant at 903 Boylston Street, which was in its soft-opening phase in October.
Holiday hours at the Central Library change on the days before and after this week. It's open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25, closed all day on Thanksgiving, and back to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on December 24 and December 31, with a full closure on December 25. The month at Trinity Church across the square adds more December events, which we covered in our post on Trinity's 150th anniversary and Copley Square's weekly rhythm.
The Friends of the Public Garden accept gifts for the Mall lights at any size, from one tree to a full block. If you'd like to talk about how these blocks look in winter, or where the Mall lights fall on your own walk, Eric Glassoff is happy to set up a free neighborhood consultation about Back Bay.
