(Day 61) I like how these trees are silhouetted against the fireworks display. This image is a part of last evening's Grand Illumination celebrations, launching the Christmas season in Williamsburg. I am rather amazed at the popularity of this event; there must have been 60 to 70 thousand folks crammed into the small colonial village to take part in the celebrations. It used to be a rather small affair in the late 1930's after the restoration. A town crier would travel from house to house with a manageble crowd in tow. At each house would call the owners name and they in turn would light the electric candles in their windows and display the holiday wreath they had crafted for the season. You may not know, but the popularity of placing electric candles in windows during the Christmas season had its roots here. In the 50's fireworks were added to the celebrations, though they were only of pyrotechnics used in the 1700's, no large rockets or thundering booms and that is what they are today. (More Info)