Nantucket in December: a lit street, a brick factory and a whale

By Isla Quinn

Nantucket is an island off Cape Cod. For most of the year it is quiet. In the first weekend of December, it fills with lit trees and carolers.

Why an island Christmas exists

The Nantucket Stroll started as a shopping idea. A local visitor guide and the magazine Yesterday’s Island both say it began in 1973 as a “Christmas Shoppers Stroll.” Merchants kept their shops open late on the first Friday in December, so islanders would spend their money at home and not cross Nantucket Sound to the Cape. The first one, both say, lasted about three hours.

It grew. The Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce now runs it, and its own page calls it the island’s “world-renowned signature event.” Locals, the Chamber says, just call it “Stroll.”

What the weekend holds

The Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce holds the Stroll on the first weekend of December. Its page lists roaming carolers in Victorian dress, a “Magical Talking Tree,” craft shows and a European-style Christmas marketplace. Santa arrives on the Saturday by what the Chamber calls a nautical “sleigh.” Dates change each year, so check the Chamber’s official Stroll page.

The independent guide fills in the detail. It says Santa comes by boat to Straight Wharf with the Coast Guard, then parades up Main Street. Yesterday’s Island has him riding an antique fire truck, led by the Town Crier. Both accounts depend on harbor conditions, so check the Chamber’s page before planning around it.

The Stroll Marketplace is on the Saturday of Stroll weekend. The Chamber says it features handcrafted goods from Chamber members and nonprofits. The guide counts more than 30 artisans, local shops, food vendors and nonprofits. We give no hours, and no fees.

The trees

The season opens earlier. The guide dates the Nantucket Noel tree lighting to the Friday after Thanksgiving. Yesterday’s Island says the trees are lit at dusk the day after Thanksgiving in an “Illumination Ceremony” led by the Town Crier, with caroling. Both sources count more than 150 decorated trees along downtown. Yesterday’s Island adds that they are six feet tall, with a 20-foot tree at the top of Main Street.

How many Strolls has there been? That depends on whom you ask.

Yesterday’s Island says 2024 counted as the 50th, because one year was canceled during the pandemic. On that count, 2026 is the 52nd.
The Chamber’s page calls the 2026 marketplace the “52nd,” based on the address of one of its links.
The independent guide calls 2026 the 54th.

We show all three and do not choose.

A candle factory with a skeleton in it

Not everything happens outdoors. The Nantucket Historical Association’s Whaling Museum describes its main hall as leading into the Hadwen and Barney Oil and Candle Factory, “a soaring 1847 two-level, exposed brick space with original wooden ceiling beams.” A 46-foot sperm whale skeleton hangs in the climate-controlled space. The guide says the Festival of Trees at the Whaling Museum, with more than 50 trees designed by local organizations, begins during Stroll weekend.

A small museum for one kind of basket

Nantucket lightship baskets get a short mention here. The Association says four things define one: it is woven on a mold, the staves are rattan, the weavers are cane, and it has a solid wood base. The Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum was founded in 1997, opened in 2000 at 49 Union Street, and affiliated with the Association in 2021. The Association says the workshop of the basket maker José Formoso Reyes (1902 to 1980) is now displayed in the Decorative Arts Gallery at the Whaling Museum. In summer, an annual basket exhibit opens at Hadwen House on Main Street.

An old town with a protected status

Wikipedia says the Nantucket Historic District became a National Historic Landmark District on December 13, 1966, and was expanded to cover the entire island in 1975. It quotes the National Park Service calling it the finest surviving example of a late 18th and early 19th century New England seaport town. The 2020 census counted 14,255 residents. Wikipedia says the summer population reaches around 80,000.

Where the sources disagree on the island’s start

Wikipedia’s own infobox gives 1641 for settlement, while its text says European settlement did not begin in earnest until 1659. It gives 1671 for incorporation. We note the gap and leave it.

What kind of sources these are

A tourism board’s event page, an independent visitor guide, a local magazine’s holiday feature and a heritage body’s museum pages. The visitor guide says it is not affiliated with the Chamber.

What we left out

Fares, hours, sponsors, the names of shops and any living person. Anything about the later years of the whaling trade.

Quick answers

When is the Nantucket Christmas Stroll? On the first weekend of December, according to the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce. Check the Chamber’s page for current dates.

When did the Stroll begin? In 1973, as a “Christmas Shoppers Stroll,” according to a local visitor guide and Yesterday’s Island magazine.

What is the Whaling Museum building? Its hall leads into an 1847 brick oil and candle factory, according to the Nantucket Historical Association.

Roam first. Shop later.

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