Decking the Nubble Light at Christmas | Up Close

The most iconic of Maine’s 65 lighthouses stands less than 300 feet from the mainland, separated by a choppy inlet off the tip of York’s Cape Neddick Peninsula. Its official name is Cape Neddick Light, but to the millions who have come to tiny Sohier Park to gaze and photograph it, it is simply Nubble Light, whose beacon and horn have protected ships since 1879.

Its nickname comes from the 2.8-acre nub of granite upon which it sits, but its hold on people’s hearts comes from its near-perfect symmetry of sea, sky, outbuilding, keeper’s house, white fence, tower—a dreamlike portrait of function made beautiful. In 1977, when the Voyager probes blasted off for Jupiter and beyond in search of possible alien life, they carried images showing what we revered here on Earth. Among those images: the Great Wall of China, the Grand Canyon, and Nubble Light. It is all the more alluring because it stands so resolute, so close, yet you cannot step onto the island to touch it. 

Nubble Light is never more loved by those who know it best, the people of York and southern Maine, than when dark descends on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and, seemingly by magic, white lights flow across the contours of buildings, fence, tower—a silent declaration that winter can wait, this holiday season is a time of delight.

Until a few years ago, everyone would stream into Sohier Park for a 6 p.m. countdown, shouting “4-3-2-1” in hopes their combined voices would reach across the waves to whoever waited on the island to flick the switch. Now, to help with crowds, the lights simply come on when it gets dark (a process that then repeats nightly until New Year’s). The 30-year tradition has morphed into something of a party, people flowing in and out like the tide. Beginning at 3 p.m., buses carry people from the high school and the beach. There is Santa, and live reindeer, and thousands of free cookies baked by locals.

Nearly every place has a tree lighting. But only here, in the dark, you can imagine these lights like tiny stars in the sky, shining and forming the perfection of a constellation called Nubble Light. 

For information on this year’s lighting and to see a live webcam, go to nubblelight.org.

Mel Allen

Now editor at large, Mel Allen's first byline in Yankee appeared in 1977 and he joined the staff in 1979 as a senior editor. Eventually he became executive editor and led the staff as editor from 2006 to 2025. During his career he has edited and written for every section of the magazine, including home, food, and travel, while his pursuit of long-form storytelling has always been vital to his mission as well. He has raced a sled dog team, crawled into the dens of black bears, fished with the legendary Ted Williams, profiled astronaut Alan Shephard, and stood beneath a battleship before it was launched. He also once helped author Stephen King round up his pigs for market, but that story is for another day. Mel is author of Here in New England: Unforgettable Stories of People, Places, and Memories That Connect Us All (Earth Sky + Water LLC, 2025).

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