Thousands of people gathered on Parliament Hill Wednesday evening to see the official illumination of the holiday lights.

The lighting ceremony kicked off with a performance by Measha Brueggergosman and the Ottawa Regional Youth Choir, and ended with a fireworks show.

A new multimedia projection show was also unveiled at the ceremony. The winter-themed display will be presented on a loop from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET every evening until Jan. 7, 2016.

People at the ceremony got free BeaverTails pastries and hot chocolate while supplies lasted.

Hundreds of thousands of holiday lights were also strung along Wellington Street, Mackenzie Avenue, Elgin Street and Sussex Drive in downtown Ottawa.

Laurier Street in Gatineau and the Alexandra Bridge was also expected to be decorated with lights.