The annual Oxford Christmas Parade continued this year’s holiday season with the “12 Days of Christmas”-themed parade on Dec. 2.
The parade begins at the University of Mississippi, travels down University Avenue, through Oxford Square and concludes at North Lamar, offering excellent viewing spots for everyone.
Different recurrent Oxford community groups participated this year, including Lafayette High School and Oxford High Schools’ bands and JROTC, dance groups and local businesses like Animal Clinic of Oxford and Oxford RX.
The parade also gives new businesses in town, like Lamar Taco Shop, an opportunity to spread their name through fun branding and parade floats. The Oxford community, whether civilian or business, comes together to create a sense of community, joy and festive spirit that makes the holiday season special for everyone.
For Oxford natives like Collyn Lewis, the parade embodies nostalgia and community spirit, making it a meaningful tradition that connects generations and fosters local pride.
“I’ve always come here since I was a kid, so I think it’s so much fun,” Lewis said. “I always come here with my family, and it always shows the hometown of Oxford.”
Each group in the parade creates its own float to promote its business, often featuring Christmas music, lights and characters while passing out candy and other items to the surrounding civilians.
The fun, themed and unique floats always lead up to the grand finale: Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, wrapping Oxford’s Christmas spirit with a bow to send you home with.
Many families and community members park their cars on the Square, sitting in the back to watch the parade floats, bands and festivities go past.
Senior interdisciplinary studies major Olivia Gagliardi from Freehold, N.J., finds the Oxford Christmas Parade unique, categorizing the city, like many other out-of-state students, city officials and locals, as a “snow globe town.”
“We have smaller Christmas parades (at home), but the feel here is obviously so different because it’s such a small town,” Gagliardi said. “It’s so cute, and it feels like a snow globe.”
Many students, like Gagliardi, hadn’t heard about the annual celebration, which was further influenced this year by its delay from Dec. 1 due to inclement rainy weather.
“I didn’t know about it,” Gagliardi said.
Molly Corry, a senior allied health studies major from Carmel, N.Y., finds charm in this celebration, which brings a cozy, hometown Christmas feeling that many out-of-state visitors and locals cherish.
“(My hometown is) definitely not as homey and Hallmark feeling,” Corry said. “We have bigger parades, but they definitely don’t give the same hometown Christmas feel.”
Meagan Adams, originally from Meridian, Miss., has lived in Oxford for almost a year, making this year’s parade all the more special for her.
“This is my first parade in Oxford, and it was wonderful,” Adams said. “Even the bite of the cold couldn’t keep the magic of Christmas away. Watching all the floats go by, hearing ‘Merry Christmas’ and seeing big, beautiful smiles on all the kids’ faces was my favorite. It’s cool to see and live in a community so involved and supportive. I think that’s what makes Oxford such a beautiful place to do life in.”
