It's The Holiday Season in New York and Cleveland

This is a tale of two cities and their seasonal traditions. 

I'm sending this update from New York, where yesterday, during a taping of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, we sat eight feet away from Prince Harry, who was faking an audition for the role of a prince in a Hallmark Christmas movie. That royal sighting was nothing compared to running into Cleveland's own royalty, Mr. Jingeling, at a holiday concert last December. More on him later.

A humble Upper East Side entryway

We always kick off the holiday season with a trip here. Christmas in New York has a singular appeal: it’s flashy and iconic. From grand public spaces to private residences in the West Village and on the Upper East Side, December's magic dazzles. 

Then we spend the rest of the month back home in Cleveland, where our Christmases hit different but are charming in their own way.

Cleveland's higgledy-piggledy display

Last year, I exclaimed “Bah, Humbug” in a letter to the editor of cleveland.com, lamenting the “jumbled mess” and “higgledy-piggledy embarrassment” of Cleveland’s Public Square holiday lighting display. I argued that Cleveland deserved better and that our downtown’s so-called designers would benefit from adopting a less-is-more approach, similar to New York's Rockefeller Center, where a single, iconic tree far surpasses Public Square’s cluttered display.

Iconic photo op: The Rockefeller Center Tree

But I still enjoy Christmas in Cleveland. One of my favorite annual traditions is attending the Cleveland Orchestra’s Christmas concert. (It always makes me smile that inside Severance Hall, everything is about peace on earth and goodwill to men, but once you’re back in the subterranean parking lot, it’s every man for himself.)

The Keeper of the Keys

In 2024, none other than Mr. Jingeling, the “keeper of the keys” from a bygone era, made an appearance at the concert. We, who grew up with this curious (and creepy) Cleveland Christmas character that appeared on afternoon TV in the '60s and '70s to promote Halle Brothers to toy-loving kids, were captivated. (Speaking of captivity, I never did figure out what all those keys were for; perhaps some questions are best left unanswered.)

While I enjoy shopping in SoHo and on Madison Avenue and admiring New York’s charming Christmas tree lots and over-the-top window displays, I also remember the bygone days of Cleveland holiday shopping, when Halle’s and Higbee’s department stores were extraordinary destinations. Higbee’s, which was prominently featured in the overrated filmed-in-Cleveland A Christmas Story, had mesmerizing store windows with primitive animatronic carolers, elves, and other seasonal characters spreading cheer.

Bygone Era: Higbee's

These days, New York doesn't have quite as much on Cleveland. The best of Gotham’s holiday windows were always at Barneys on Madison Avenue at 61st Street; they were clever, lavish, and acted as visual commentary on current news and popular culture. Sadly, Barneys closed in February 2020. Even the flagship Saks Fifth Avenue, which featured a stunning light show for 20 years, canceled it, Grinch-like, in 2024 due to budget constraints. (To the delight of many, it is back this year.)

Mother of all nativity scenes:
St. Patrick's Cathedral, NYC

Indeed, the best “holiday decoration” in New York is the crèche found inside Fifth Avenue’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Talk about a nativity scene!

Despite my complaints about the superiority of Christmases past in both Cleveland and New York, I still enjoy a merry six weeks between the two cities. Joe’s and my decorations are pretty elaborate, so even though Cleveland’s Public Square and Saks in New York might disappoint from time to time, budget cuts haven't yet affected Moreland Hills.

No place like home for the holidays

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