‘WORTH IT’
Hundreds head to Hub tree lighting
The holiday season officially got underway with hundreds of people celebrating the Macy’s Christmas tree lighting in Downtown Crossing last night — some traveling hundreds of miles to be here.
“This is one of my favorite events,” Mayor Martin J. Walsh told the crowd. “To all the young people here today, just remember this moment.”
Virginia and David Stickney of Dorchester come to the tree lighting each year, but last night was the first time they got to see their 16year-old daughter, Samantha, sing at the celebration with the Boston Children’s Chorus.
“It’s very exciting,” Virginia Stickney said. “It’s nippy out, but it’s fun.”
Judy Demas, 27, also of Dorchester, danced to “Jingle Bells” with her 3-yearold daughter Alicia as they waited for the tree lighting.
“We came here especially for it,” said Ashley Cooper, 27, of Charlotte, N.C. “After Thanksgiving, that’s when you start getting into the Christmas spirit. This is my first time here, and so far, so good.”
Fellow North Carolinian Englund Talbert drove 17 hours with daughters Arana, 4, and Afton, 2, on their first trip to Boston.
“We had always wanted to come here, so we decided to skip the family drama and do it,” said Talbert, 42. “It’s been wonderful. The people have been great, and we’ve enjoyed it — and that’s with temperatures we’re not used to. It was in the mid-50s when we left North Carolina, but it’s definitely been worth it.”