It’s not exactly The First Noel, but Florida’s state capital lays claim to being the site where Christmas may have been celebrated for the first time in what became the United States. And the holiday spirit hasn’t dimmed in Tallahassee for some 500 years.

Tallahassee stands out today for its holiday celebration marked by candy canes, elves and lights galore.

“The holiday season in Tallahassee is a pretty magical time,” said Katie Kole, senior marketing director for Visit Tallahassee. “We are a lot different than the rest of the state as we experience all four seasons and we have holiday events throughout the month.”

One event that catches the eye is the light display in Dorothy B. Oven Park in downtown Tallahassee, where more than 250,000 lights twinkle every night during the holiday season.

“The park is transformed into a winter wonderland,” Kole said. “They have Elf Night [Dec. 14]. “There is Santa and all kinds of things for people to come and see.”

Kole said her own memories of the celebrations span many years.

“As someone who was born and raised in Tallahassee, we have been doing this every year since I was a little girl,” she said. “It’s not truly Christmas until we go to the park.”

And then there’s Lofty Pursuits, Tallahassee’s world-famous local candy store, where owner Greg Cohen oversees the crafting of thousands of candy canes made by hand.

“We make some of the best hard candy in the world,” said Cohen, who started making the candy canes in 2010 “because it seemed to be a good idea at the time.”

Cohen said his educational background helps a lot.

“I went to college as an engineering major,” he said. “There is something to be said about having taken thermodynamics and organic chemistry and going into candy making.”

This year Cohen and his team will make 30,000 candy canes, which are done in batches of 300.

“We are a Tallahassee tradition,” he said. “Our canes are bigger and tastier and use better ingredients and the hand stretching increases surface area of air bubbles so you end up with more flavor coming up with every lick.”

And there’s more. LeMoyne Arts is presenting its 60^th annual holiday show, which it is calling its Diamond Jubilee. Kole says it’s great for shopping to “get ornaments and items made by local artists and vendors.

And of course, there’s a tree downtown, presentations of The Nutcracker and a city-wide New Year’s Eve bash.

Today’s celebrations likely kicked off almost 500 years ago with a group of Spanish explorers and the priests who accompanied them.

“In 1539 Hernando de Soto set up his winter encampment site in what is now Tallahassee,” Kole said. “Historians believe since he was traveling with 12 priests, so what is now Tallahassee is likely the location for the first Christmas.”

The Florida Department of State did an excavation of his encampment site, Kole explained, so the conclusions about the first Florida Christmas are based on archeological research.

A historical marker in front of the County Courthouse pays homage to the legend.

“There’s no events around the first Christmas,” Kole said. “It’s more just part of the story.”

And what a story it is.