The Christmas tree, in three separate eras

Era one: the courthouse lawn. On December 22, 1916, the South Bend News-Times covered the city's "Third Annual Christmas Tree Celebration" on the Court House lawn: the tree donated by Mrs. J. C. Ranch from a farm north of the city, its lights fed by current from the Indiana & Michigan Electric Company, tableaux of the Nativity presented beside it. Third annual is the paper's own count, and by that arithmetic the municipal tree begins in 1914; this article prints the 1916 fact and the arithmetic as arithmetic, and claims no program detail for the two runnings before it, which no source describes.

Eras two and three, counted separately. In the 2014 season, Notre Dame's Scholastic reported South Bend's "Downtown for the Holidays" in its 26th year, by the parks department events supervisor's count: Santa arriving by fire truck, a procession to a workshop house at Jon R. Hunt Plaza, fireworks over downtown. In the current form, the city's Special Events Committee minutes of November 1, 2022, describe the downtown tree lighting at the Gridiron, sleigh procession and fireworks, as in its 6th year, and the Holiday Light Parade as the 5th annual; Downtown South Bend's current pages put Santa's House, the little red and white house, in the 100 block of S. Michigan St. beside the South Bend Chocolate Cafe. Three counts, three forms, printed separately on purpose: whether the line runs unbroken from the courthouse lawn of 1916 to the Gridiron of today is a claim the record assembled here does not support, and this section does not make it.

Sources

1. South Bend News-Times, December 22, 1916 (via Hoosier State Chronicles): "South Bend's Third Annual Christmas Tree Celebration," Court House lawn; tree donated by Mrs. J. C. Ranch; Indiana & Michigan Electric Company current; Nativity tableaux.
2. Notre Dame Scholastic, 2014 season: "Downtown for the Holidays" in its 26th year per parks events supervisor Paula Garris; Santa by fire truck; workshop house at Jon R. Hunt Plaza; fireworks.
3. City of South Bend Special Events Committee minutes, November 1, 2022: DTSB Tree Lighting Ceremony at the Gridiron in its 6th year in that form; Holiday Light Parade 5th annual.
4. Downtown South Bend (DTSB) current pages: Santa's House, 100 block of S. Michigan St., beside the South Bend Chocolate Cafe.