Christmas in Greeneville

Greeneville does Christmas the way a historic small town should — a downtown parade, a tree lighting on the courthouse lawn, a drive-through light display with a million bulbs, holiday shows at the Niswonger, and Main Street shops open late. Here's your complete guide to the holidays in Greeneville and Greene County, Tennessee.

The Greeneville Christmas Parade

The season's big one. The Greeneville Christmas Parade — put on by the Exchange Club of Greeneville and the Greene County Partnership — rolls through downtown along Main Street on a Sunday afternoon in early December at 2 p.m. Expect a new theme each year, a judged float competition, marching bands, and a Grand Marshal. The exact date and route can change year to year, so confirm the current one on our events calendar.

Christmas in Downtown & the tree lighting

A few days before the parade, Christmas in Downtown — organized by Main Street: Greeneville — turns historic downtown into a holiday block party on a Friday evening in early December. The centerpiece is the community Christmas tree lighting on the Greene County Courthouse lawn, with Santa arriving around 8:30 p.m. There are carolers, live music, food trucks, hay rides, and a holiday market, and downtown shops stay open late with refreshments. The same night, several historic landmarks open their doors for free: the Dickson-Williams Mansion recreates an 1850s candlelit Christmas with costumed interpreters, the National Park Service leads candlelight tours of the Andrew Johnson Homestead, the General Morgan Inn hosts a warm-beverage reception with Santa, and the city car museum and history museum join in too.

Shop small for the holidays

Greene County goes big on shopping local for Christmas. Shop Small Greene, the countywide Small Business Saturday campaign (the Saturday after Thanksgiving), features a scavenger hunt across participating downtown shops and a holiday market alongside the Depot Street Farmers Market, with crafters, food trucks, and Santa. It's the perfect kickoff to holiday shopping — browse the local business directory to plan your list, and see our farmers markets guide for the market side of things.

Holiday shows at the Niswonger

The Niswonger Performing Arts Center (212 Tusculum Blvd, on the Greeneville High School campus) brings a full slate of touring holiday productions to town every November and December — The Nutcracker, gospel and country Christmas concerts, and family favorites like Lightwire Theater's glow-in-the-dark A Very Electric Christmas. It's the marquee way to spend a holiday evening in Greeneville. Check the current lineup at npacgreeneville.com.

Holiday events coming up

Here's what's on the Greene County calendar this December:

Christmas lights: drive-through at Hardin Park

For the classic pile-in-the-car-with-hot-cocoa tradition, Christmas in the Park at Hardin Park is a free drive-through light display with more than a million lights and hundreds of holiday scenes, hosted by the Town of Greeneville Parks & Recreation. It runs nightly (roughly 6–10 p.m.) from early December through about December 30. A donation box sits at the exit. (Note: it's at Hardin Park, off Crescent Street — not Kinser Park.)

More holiday traditions

• Journey Through Christmas — a free walk-through live nativity at Eastside Baptist Church, a mid-December tradition.
• Greeneville Woman's Club Holiday Bazaar — a decades-old craft market with around 200 vendors at Hal Henard Elementary, held in early November — an early kickoff to holiday shopping.
• Tusculum University Christmas concerts — the Community Chorus Christmas Concert and the campus Band Christmas Concert & tree lighting, both free and open to the public, at Tusculum's Fine Arts Center in Tusculum in early-to-mid December.
• Christmas in Olde Greeneville — the Greene County Heritage Trust's holiday programming, including its annual Christmas dinner, adds a historic touch to the season.
• Midnight on Main — the Town of Greeneville's New Year's Eve celebration downtown on December 31 caps off the season.

However you celebrate, Greeneville makes a merry little Christmas town. See everything on the full events calendar or what's on this month, and if the holidays have you dreaming of a move, our guide to moving to Greeneville has the rest.