Photo: Courtesy of Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum
The Annual Lighting of the Pilgrim Monument
by Steve Desroches
Maybe you’re driving back to Provincetown and you’re atop Pilgrim Heights in Truro approaching Beach Point, and you see the Monument all lit up letting you know you’re almost home. Or perhaps it’s the middle of the night, you can’t sleep, and you see the illuminated tower and it provides comfort. And then there are the times you go out to the Province Lands Center to look at the nighttime sky and see the Pilgrim Monument lit for the holidays reminding you that the sweet town you call home is just over there as you enjoy the wilds of the Cape Cod National Seashore.
The tradition of lighting the Pilgrim Monument is one of the most beloved and soothing customs of life in Provincetown. The switch is flipped the night before Thanksgiving, and the lights stay on until the Epiphany on January 6, presenting a symbol of all that’s good about Provincetown, visible miles out to sea. While it’s generally regarded as part of the holiday season celebrations, Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum executive director Courtney Hurst offers a gentle correction, or more accurately, a history.
“Most people assume they are holiday lights, but they are actually landing lights,” says Hurst. “They’re up for five and a half weeks, which is the amount of time the Pilgrims stayed here. Many think it was done to make the Monument look like a Christmas tree. But however people think about the lights, whatever they think they’re about, is fine with us.”
The very first time the Pilgrim Monument was illuminated was in August of 1910, the year it was completed. It was done for the occasion of President William Howard Taft coming to Provincetown for the monument’s dedication. According to Hurst, the historical record states that the day before was very windy and that a crew was still on ladders fixing broken bulbs not long before the President’s arrival. Over the years, the Monument was lit sporadically, always to commemorate the landing of the Pilgrims, says Hurst, which is indeed why the Monument was built in the first place, commemorating when the Mayflower landed in what is now Provincetown Harbor on November 11, 1620 and leaving either on December 15 or 16, headed for the Wampanoag village of Patuxet, now Plymouth. It became a holiday season tradition in the 1980s when Candace Collins-Boden, the former executive director of the Provincetown Chamber of Commerce, and other town leaders led an effort to revive the practice, says Hurst. And ever since, the 252-foot granite tower has been decorated with 20 strands featuring 3,100 lightbulbs lighting Provincetown up at the darkest time of the year.
It did not take long for the lighting ceremony to become an important date on the Provincetown calendar. Being the night before Thanksgiving it became part of a homecoming for those returning to the Cape tip to celebrate the holiday with family and friends. While the gathering on High Pole Hill always attracts a crowd, house parties have been a part of the annual lighting since the beginning. Hurst recalls her family gathering at her grandparent’s house at 119 Bradford Street for the event every year. And despite the chilly temperatures, they always kept a window or two open, like many, as the countdown to the lighting by the folks on the hill can be heard far and wide around town.
“It’s one of my favorite days of the year,” says Hurst. “That and the Blessing of the Fleet. I have such good memories of lighting parties. It’s a big family tradition. Now that I’m executive director we moved the party to the hill, of course. I have such great memories of the lightings. I also remember a few years when the lights were multicolored.”
The process of stringing the actual lights begins the week before Halloween, when electrician Carlos Silva and his crew lay out the strands checking each lightbulb. Thankfully, when one bulb goes out, they don’t all go out, sparing the Monument a Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation moment. A system of ropes and levies brings the lights up to the top while the other end is anchored by stakes on the ground. It’s a sturdy infrastructure considering the high winds of the season that can certainly batter the Monument, which is located on the highest point in Provincetown, reaching 350 feet in the air, counting the elevation of the land. In addition to the manual labor, it requires fundraising as well. Considering the lights, work, and electric bill, the entire illumination costs about $20,000. An annual appeal is sent out and many folks make donations in honor of people, receiving a sticker in return stating the person’s name and that they have been “Honored in Light.” When Hurst left home as an adult and couldn’t be in Provincetown for the Lighting, her mother always made a donation to let her know she was still a part of the event.
“I’m so looking forward to the Lighting,” says Hurst. “I love what everyone brings to it. I love that people get dressed up. I love the energy. It’s always a great night to be in Provincetown.”
The Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum is located at 1 High Pole Hill Road. The annual Lighting on the Hill will take place on Wednesday, November 25 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. with the actual lighting taking place at 5 p.m. The event is free. For more information call 508.487.1310 or visit pilgrim-monument.org.
