Five Fabulous Cedar Rapids Christmas Traditions

The 34th Annual Holiday DeLight Parade was a terrific success on Saturday evening December 9, but it's just the start of the Christmas Season! This fun event unofficially kicks off our list of Five Fabulous Cedar Rapids Christmas Traditions to share with your family.

You may have to bribe your kids with a hot cocoa from the Blue Strawberry to get them to agree to an evening of caroling. But with a little luck they'll be belting out the classics like Jingle Bells and Frosty the Snowman for appreciative fans (and a captive audience) at area nursing homes and senior living centers.

Welcome to Von Maur, the classy department store that was born in Davenport, Iowa over 100 years ago. This place surpasses everyone (even the legendary Macy's) at Christmas time. I was recently spotted checking out the holiday threads and trying to decide which way to go on the wardrobe update. Red? Or green?

It's a festive night of music with Orchestra Iowa Maestro Tim Hankewich and local jazz icon Eddie Piccard. They'll be joined by friends from the Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale, the Discovery Chorus, Espressivo Strings, and others to ring in the season December 16-18 at the Paramount Theatre.

Being the first to find the pickle ornament on the Christmas tree is an old tradition that dates back over 100 years. It's an old American tradition that is claimed to have German and Bohemian roots. And we're big enough to share the credit across the borders. After all, it's the holidays!