In some parts of the country, leaving your Christmas lights up for nearly a month after Christmas could come with an HOA fine. But in Denver, it’s a cherished tradition that longtime residents like myself are clued in on: Christmas lights stay up until the National Western Stock Show ends.
Every winter, nearly 70,000 people descend on Denver for the National Western Stock Show (Jan. 11-26, 2024), a Western extravaganza that includes rodeos and horse shows. The Stock Show started in 1906, and, at some point, it became tradition to keep holiday lights up as a sign of hospitality—though some of the details on how the tradition came to be are a little murky.
“Keeping the Christmas lights on through the Stock Show may have been there since the beginning,” says Tom Noel, a state historian who is known as “Dr. Colorado” and the author of “Riding High: Colorado Ranchers and 100 years of the National Western Stock Show.”
This year, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis encouraged the state’s residents to keep their lights glowing in January:
Several businesses are in on it, too. The Dairy Block, a microdistrict in downtown with restaurants, shops, and the Maven Hotel, leaves its lights up through the Stock Show.
Even before the National Western started in 1906, the Christmas Trees and reindeer in Civic Center were illuminated, Noel points out.
A 1955 article published in The Steamboat Pilot newspaper zeroed in on the tradition, explaining that for at least 12 years prior, Denver had been keeping its Christmas display up for the stock show so that “thousands of visitors throughout the nation can view the famous scene in civic center. The only change made which differs from the regular Christmas display is the playing of Western music rather than carols over the loudspeaker system.”
At some point, residents also started adopting the tradition, leaving their lights up through mid-to-late January, welcoming out-of-towners who pump $120 million into the local economy.
“Some have called it tacky, but we do it to share the holiday spirit with our more rural neighbors who come into town for the Stock Show and perhaps didn’t have a lot of holiday decorations around their farms and ranches,” says Kosta Skordos, former general manager of Wynkoop Brewery, which is Colorado’s oldest brewpub. “They come here in January and get to see the whole city in lights.”
The brewery is along the Stock Show Parade route. Downtown Denver streets are shut down as 30 or so Longhorn cattle lumber down the streets to kick off the stock show.
When it comes to putting up and taking down Christmas decor, there’s all kinds of opinions on timing. Another tradition that guides decorating decisions is “The 12 Days of Christmas.”
While you may know how the song goes (partridges in a pear tree, maids a milking, lords a leaping …) the actual 12 days of Christmas in Christian tradition isn’t a countdown to the big day, but rather is the period between Christmas Day (Dec. 25) and Epiphany (Jan. 6). In Christianity, the 12 days mark the period between when Jesus was born and when the three wise men or kings arrived. So, for some, the merrymaking continues through Santa’s delivery and New Year’s Eve celebrations until Jan. 6, and then decorations are taken down.
For me, I love leaving my lights up through mid-to-late January, adhering to the Stock Show tradition. Knowing that my lights will be up through January allows me to enjoy Thanksgiving and the gourds and pumpkins without rushing to get the holiday decor up. Plus, it’s cold and dark in Denver in January, and keeping the cheer around a little longer is welcome not just for the stock show visitors—but also the residents.