South Carolina has quite a few mysterious yet awesome places, like that UFO welcome center (what’s up with that?!) and the Gray Man of Pawleys Island who shows up before a hurricane to warn the locals of the severity of the impending storm. But nothing quite rivals the wondrous annual mystery that takes place on the beach each December…
To begin with, Folly Beach has always sort of been known as an anything (within reason!) goes beach. It has the biggest surf and the biggest annual festivals (Follypalooza and the Sea and Sand Festival, to name two of them).
Flickr/Let Ideas Compete
And each New Years Day the annual Polar Bear Plunge attracts hundreds of adventurous souls to dip into some of the coldest surf of the year. But there’s another totally awesome and unannounced annual event that takes place on Folly Beach each Christmas — and it’s nothing short of spectacular.
Facebook/Tides Folly Beach
Each year during the holiday season Christmas trees mysteriously appear on the beach.
Facebook/Tides Folly Beach
Imagine going for a leisurely beachfront stroll and encountering beautifully decorated Christmas trees! No one knows (except probably some of the locals) who, exactly, puts out a tree but there have been years where several trees pop up along the beach.
Flickr/John Getchel
Many people make it a tradition to bring an ornament to place on one of the trees, thereby adding to the holiday spirit. The trees and their location vary from year to year, but we are certainly thankful to the many folks who keep this amazing tradition alive!
TripAdvisor/Vhern
Have you seen the Christmas tree(s) on the beach at Folly? We’d love to know (and see your photos in our comments thread!)
Flickr/Let Ideas Compete
Facebook/Tides Folly Beach
Flickr/John Getchel
TripAdvisor/Vhern
For more South Carolina traditions, keep reading here.
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