Why was the Saks Christmas Lights Show in NYC canceled?

One of the most iconic Christmas spectacles is no more: Saks has just announced that its iconic light show on the facade of the building at 611 Fifth Avenue has been canceled indefinitely. The timing of the decision is also interesting: the company is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

“We have been considering changing our approach for some time,” a company spokesperson told NBC New York today. “We will not be hosting a light show this year as we have changed our approach to the holiday windows.”

According to the outlet, Saks will continue to celebrate the holidays, although the focus will be on the “architectural significance” of the building and the address it has called home for a century.

“In our 100th year, which also marks the flagship’s anniversary, we celebrate the season by honoring the architectural significance of this iconic building, elegantly illuminating the façade and framing the holiday windows, and highlighting the fashion that Saks Fifth represents.” Avenue is known,” the spokesman also said.

You can expect to see the structure lit up starting this month and playing “magical jingles” as the holidays approach.

According to a press release that went live last month, the holiday windows will feature “standout pieces from the luxury industry's top names, contrasted with colorful snowflake fragments, dichroic vinyl and silver harlequin flooring.”

As exciting as the new approach sounds, the celebration will obviously lack the light show that many locals and tourists associate with this time of year in the city.

Luckily, there are still plenty of great holiday activities in NYC, so you can make sure your season is as magical as ever, even without the famous show.