The Lord & Taylor light show. “Black Nativity.” The tree in Rittenhouse Square.

Add “Xmas Philes” to this list of Philadelphia holiday traditions. The Philadelphia Dance Company’s exuberant tribute to the Christmas season, commissioned by Dance Celebration in 2000, returns to the Annenberg Center stage Dec. 6-9. Featuring a jazzy rendition of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” and a childlike version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” choreographer Daniel Ezralow’s “Xmas Philes” was praised as “infectious fun” by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

This year, as a tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and their families, Philadanco’s holiday show also includes Gene Hill Sagan’s “Elegy,” set to music by Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Ronald K. Brown’s “Gatekeepers,” with original music by Wunmi Olaiya.

—S.S.

- “XMAS PHILES”: Thursday, Dec. 6 through Sunday, Dec. 9 in Zellerbach Theatre, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St.; see day-by-day listings for performance times. Tickets for evening shows $35, $33 and $31; tickets for matinees $32, $30 and $28; discounts for students, seniors and Penn affiliates available. Tickets/info: www.pennpresents.org or 215-898-3900.