The Candlelight Processional is an annual live Christmas event held in Disneyland Park in California and EPCOT at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

[2] Guest choirs and performing groups were also brought in to play at a small bandstand near Sleeping Beauty Castle, which was renamed the Christmas Bowl.

[2] In 1960, the ceremony was moved back to Town Square and bleachers were constructed to form a temporary stage on Main Street Station so the choirs were more visible.

Actor Dennis Morgan was the first narrator, and began a long tradition of people from stage, screen, and sports lending their talents to the ceremony.

Walt Disney continued to support the event until his death in 1966, and last attended the processional in December 1965 with Dick Van Dyke as narrator.

The choir, which is made up of volunteer employees from all over The Walt Disney Company, still perform as the living Christmas tree to this day.

[10] Walt Disney World opened in October 1971, and the Candlelight Procession was transferred over to the new Magic Kingdom theme park.

[11] At the beginning, the event was staged in front of Cinderella Castle, and then alternated with Main Street Station, similar to the Disneyland version.

At Walt Disney World, the event was growing in popularity and demand, and it was decided to move Candlelight to EPCOT, which had opened in 1982.

[13][14] Phylicia Rashad became the first narrator for the EPCOT version in 1994, and the show has been performed every year since with exception of 2020 when it was cancelled on both coasts due to COVID-19.

[15] In 2022, Dr. John V. Sinclair, director of music at Rollins College, was honored for conducting over 1,000 performances of the Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World.

[19] In the program, songs in different languages have been performed, including "Gesù bambino" (Italian), "Stille Nacht" (German and Spanish), "What Child Is This?"

The songs are custom composed and arranged for Disney to retell the nativity story, with orchestrations performed by a large orchestra.

For several decades, the poem One Solitary Life by James Allan Francis was recited by the celebrity narrator, however this was cut from the program beginning with the 2013 season.

One of the long running participant choirs since the 1970s at Disney World has been Seminole High School from Sanford, Florida under the direction of Bob Maguire.

In 2018, the EPCOT Candlelight Processional was live-streamed on YouTube via the official Disney Parks channel, with Neil Patrick Harris as narrator.