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All the United States New Mexico Madrid Madrid Christmas Parade
AO Edited

Madrid Christmas Parade

A ghost town revived by hippies and wanderers throws its own special brand of holiday parade.

Madrid, New Mexico

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William Avery Hudson
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Madrid Christmas Parade 2018   VagabondTabby / Atlas Obscura User
The Christmas Zamboni, Madrid Christmas Parade 2018   VagabondTabby / Atlas Obscura User
#trophycarnm, Madrid Christmas Parade 2018   VagabondTabby / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Referred to as "Christmas City" by those in the know, Madrid was a mining town that had a Christmas celebration that rivaled all others. In the first half of the 20th century, even Walt Disney himself marveled at the luminescent displays of lights and holiday cheer.

Then the mines closed down, and like so many other towns in the southwest, Madrid became a ghost town, a place of Christmas past. It survived on its ghost town merits alone for several decades, but unlike that of so many of its ramshackle sister towns, Madrid's story wasn't over yet. Hope sparked as hippies and other off-the-gridders decided to make Madrid a place to call home once again, and in the 1970s, Christmas City came back to life.

No ordinary town, Madrid is now filled with free spirits and folks who march to the beat of their own holiday drum. The annual parade was revived, and today features marching dogs and roaming children, shot-up beater cars, residents in costumes of their own design, and the treasured Christmas yak. 

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Wondrous Performances Rites And Rituals Festivals Holidays

Know Before You Go

If you go, be aware that if you look weird enough, you might wind up in the parade.

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avery

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VagabondTabby, webwebster

  • VagabondTabby
  • webwebster

Published

February 28, 2013

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Sources
  • http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/article-5013-the-christmas-city.html
  • http://theblondecoyote.com/2011/12/06/a-very-madrid-christmas/
Madrid Christmas Parade
Madrid, New Mexico, 87010
United States
35.406705, -106.152523
Visit Website

Nearby Places

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Madrid

Madrid

New Mexico

Places 3

Nearby Places

Mine Shaft Tavern

Madrid, New Mexico

miles away

Connie's Photo Park

Madrid, New Mexico

miles away

Los Cerrillos

Los Cerrillos, New Mexico

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Madrid

Madrid

New Mexico

Places 3

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