San Antonio's holiday season is anchored by the lighting of the River Walk (one of the country's most distinctive urban-river settings) and by the city's deep Spanish and Mexican heritage, expressed through the Las Posadas processions at La Villita. The mix of mission history and Mexican-American culture gives the season a character found nowhere else.

• Ford Holiday River Parade: Decorated barges float down the River Walk in a parade that has become the city's official kickoff to the holiday season.
• Las Posadas at La Villita: The historic Spanish-colonial district hosts the traditional nine-night Mexican Christmas procession reenacting Mary and Joseph's search for shelter.
• The Alamo at Christmas: The historic mission and surrounding plaza host an annual tree-lighting and seasonal programming at one of the most-visited historic sites in the United States.
• Tex-Mex Holiday Table: Mi Tierra at Market Square (open 24 hours since 1941), the puffy tacos at Ray's Drive Inn, and December tamale orders from family panaderías like El Bolillo make San Antonio's holiday food culture the most distinctly Mexican-American of any major American city.