Dan and Janet Lohr first pulled on their parkas and headed to Light Up Night when their daughter, Mary Beth, was small enough for Dan to hoist into the air for a prime view of the illuminating Unity Tree.

Mary Beth is 30 now, but the Avalon family still huddles together at Stanwix Street and Penn Avenue to watch the lighting of the tree, which clings to the side of the Highmark building.

"It's just as exciting now as it was back then," Mr. Lohr said.

Downtown was brimming with families like the Lohrs -- about 200,000 people, by organizers' estimates -- die-hard revelers who strap on their ear muffs and puffy coats and head to Light Up Night year after year.

They brought their children and friends, and this year, gloves and knit caps to protect them from a stinging cold that they insisted couldn't keep them from the festivities.

Clutching each other, with scarves shielding their faces, they swarmed Point State Park and Market Square, where the sweet smell of cinnamon roasted almonds wafted through the air and a different Christmas carol could be heard at each street corner.

With a wintry fireworks show as its classic finale, Light Up Night remained a hallmark of the holidays in Pittsburgh -- a favorite way to ring in the season.

"It's just something special we always do together," said Barbara Marschik, 15, of Greensburg, who brought along her sister, Katie, and a pair of close friends. They threw their arms around each other and posed for a picture in front of the crowded Rink at PPG Place, a twinkling tree amid a mass of circling skaters as their backdrop. All around them children pressed against windows to get a closer look at a display of gingerbread houses.

The group of friends planned to make a night of it, sticking around to watch Santa's tree lighting.

"Right after it's over, we start planning for next year," said Chelsea Widdows, 15, of Delmont.

Strings of little lights winked from almost everywhere, on the sides of buildings, wrapped around lampposts, and tangled in tree branches. A few remaining darkened patches flickered with red and green flashing toys and glowing wands shaped like Rudolph and Frosty.

"It feels like Christmas, not Thanksgiving," said Larissa Lane, 20, of Mount Washington, who enjoyed her first Light Up Night with her sister, Brittney, 18. "It's definitely a different experience."

In Market Square, a crowd watched as a team of tap-dancing girls, the "Mini Rockettes," clicked their heels to "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."

Margaret Wilson, 10, and her siblings Nicholas, 5, and Theresa, 7, wearing glowing necklaces, swayed nearby.

"I just enjoy spending time with them," said their mother, Ann Wilson, of Economy.

"And we enjoy you, as well," a bouncy Theresa chimed in.

By 9 p.m., noses that were pressed to storefront windows pointed instead to the skies, and the boom of fireworks mixed with carols blaring through a loudspeaker.

Larry James propped his son, Seth, 6, on his shoulders for a better look. He traveled with his wife, Dena, and another son, Corey, 17, from Canton, Ohio, for the celebration, which they do every year.

"We enjoy it so much," Dena said. "Nobody does it up like Pittsburgh."