Calendar: Celebrating Both Nature and the Holidays

Christmas is the focus of most light displays at this time of year, but there are a few impressive shows whose focus is as much about nature as the holidays.

The Capitol, in sticks. Photo by catface3

The US Botanic Garden's annual holiday exhibit is open now through January 2. They're open every day from 10am to 5pm, with extended hours and musical performances on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Last year we were utterly charmed by the model village filled with Washington buildings and more fanciful dwellings all made out of plant materials and fungi! Free.

Brookside Gardens also brings a decidedly botanic and nature-loving twist to its impressive holiday celebration, the Garden of Lights. They're open now, every night through the end of the year except Christmas eve and Christmas, from 5:30 to 9pm. $20-25 per vehicle (but it's a walk-through display).

Zoo Lights opens this Friday (from 6-8:30pm), and each week it will highlight a different area of the zoo with animal themed light displays. They're open Friday through Sunday for the next couple of weeks, then most nights of the weeks before and after Christmas. Free (there's charge for parking even if you're a member).