After 3…2…1…it was official: the Christmas season had come to Troy.

“It was absolutely wonderful. We just kicked off the Christmas season,” said Troy Mayor Jimmy Lunsford, after he and four local school children lit up the Christmas tree downtown on the square Monday night.

As tradition, Troy kicked off the Christmas season the first Monday after Thanksgiving, with a parade, a tree lighting and a visit from Santa Claus himself.

And even in the midst of one of Troy’s coldest days this year, the crowds came.

Trying to stay warm, Leann Crowell, of Jack, lined up on the streets with her small dog Halo bundled in her shirt.

It was Crowell’s first Troy Christmas parade, and she said she was there to watch her daughter march with the Zion Chapel Rebels in the band.

Another first-timer was bundled up, as well, but it wasn’t a dog keeping this lady warm.

With two children clinging to her arms, Pat Webb, who recently moved from Nebraska, waited for the parade to start with her children, Nathan, Sarah and Joel.

The family had never come to a Christmas parade before, and Webb said perhaps, this would become a new family tradition.

But there were others who already had made Troy’s Christmas Parade part of their holiday celebrations.

“We just try to be out here every year,” said Debra Warrick, who was with her mom Geraldine.

The mother and daughter pair, dressed in Santa Claus hats, said they loved watching the parade, and this year they had a special person to watch on the float.

“I have a grand baby, whose 17 months, riding on Pee Wee’s Wrecker service,” Warrick said.