The Metro Nashville Christmas tree was lit Friday night in front of hundreds of people.
The Lee Chapel Choir, Jana Kramer and RevolFusion performed holiday music leading up to and after Mayor Megan Barry flipped the switch.
Davidson County Clerk Brenda Wynn, Vice Mayor David Briley and Mayor Megan Barry welcomed the crowd and made a few remarks before the tree was lit.
The 42-foot-tall Norway Spruce is covered with around 6,000 lights and is modeled after the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York. That's why it does not have ornaments.
The Christmas parade is set for Saturday morning. Streets will begin to close at 6:30 a.m. to get ready for the parade, which begins at 10 a.m.
City officials hope holding it Saturday morning would help alleviate some of the traffic problems they've seen in years past.
The parade starts at 8th and Broadway, heads east to 2nd Avenue North, crosses over the Cumberland River and ends at the base of the Woodland Street Bridge.
The parade should end by around 11:30.
