For the faithful, it was a more subdued night at the St. John the Divine, where hundreds packed in for a family service Tuesday afternoon.
The cathedral choirs and orchestra performed, singing classic Christmas carols and anthems. A midnight Christmas Eve mass was also set to be held Tuesday night.
It comes at the end of a difficult year, although Eyewitness News spoke to people who have a lot of optimism for the year to come.
"I think we're rounding the corner, I think as a country, this is a country that was based on optimism," said one woman. "People came here because they were optimistic for their futures, and I think that we'll round around to that again. Even New Yorkers. New Yorkers are tough, they're the best."
"You can have all these people celebrating together," said parishioner Jerri Dodds. "There's a kind of optimism in that, because people who are coming together here now are celebrating common humane values, and that's a kind of commitment to the world beyond. Isn't that a kind of optimism?"
Meanwhile, under usually heavy security and more moderate temperatures, thousands descended on St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Faithful attend Christmas Eve and midnight mass at St. Patrick's
They came from near and far to take part in the night that for so many is magical.
"If you're going to celebrate Christmas come to New York," said Ava Schumm from Sayville, Long Island. "No matter where you're from it's so magical. We love it."
The Thomas family is in from Ohio.
"I've always seen it in TV and I'm like, okay Christmas, sometime in my life, I'm going to go," Frances Thomas said. "It's 2024. Made it happen."
Family mass was held Tuesday evening.
During his sermon, Cardinal Timothy Dolan spoke about the significance of Christmas.
The evening will conclude with a midnight mass, which traditionally draws quite the crowd, but it's only open to people who scored tickets in a lottery in advance.
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