Who doesn’t love the holiday season with decorations, lights, and festivities galore? If you enjoy experiencing different cultures, why not consider a trip during the holidays? I was in St. Thomas on Friday, December 16, 2011 for what is known as “Miracle on Main Street.” From the visitusvi.com website: “Downtown Charlotte Amalie comes alive at night with music, dancing, local vendors at Emancipation Garden, and extended shopping hours. Enjoy a lighted boat parade on the Waterfront as St. Thomas harbor sparkles with Christmas lights.”
I had hoped to take some great pictures of the lighted boat parade, but that apparently was not meant to be. Instead, I did take pictures of two of the around 15 lighted boats, but as you can see they don’t really do the parade or the boats justice. So this is where I will have to ask you to use your imagination on the lighted boat parade and imagine brightly lit boats sailing down the harbor to the delight of many hundreds, if not more, excited residents and tourists in St. Thomas. I appreciated that everyone refrained from fighting, screaming, yelling, swearing, or misbehaving of any kind. Although people were having drinks, everyone was so happy and in the holiday spirit combined with the overall great laid back vibe of the Virgin Islands that you could seriously tell everyone was having a great time and they were all on their best behavior. Santa would be so proud!
As we walked through the streets, past the vendors selling their goods and people lining up to watch the boats in the parade, I noticed people of all ages in the crowd as well as couples and families. Everyone was here and they were dancing and moving to the music and watching the performers throughout the night. Here you can see people filling Emancipation Garden where over 50 vendors were situated. If you didn’t feel like buying from a street vendor, the stores downtown were staying open most of the evening. The restaurants were busy and some were offering a special menu for the occasion.
My favorite part of the evening was when I spotted one of the many groups of children who were performing. These little girls were so cute that I wanted to put them all in my pocket and take them home with me! They were excited to perform and it’s safe to say they enjoyed having all of the attention on them.
Maybe you’ve never considered spending the holidays away from home, but if you do, consider St. Thomas for your next Christmas. You can spend time with your family, enjoy great weather and a great island, and maybe take in a lighted boat parade where you can get a few better pics than the ones I took. Any way you look at it, you can’t go wrong. I would absolutely toss around the possibility of a warm Christmas over a cold, snowy one. Would you?