- Grand illumination
A Grand Illumination is an outdoor
ceremony involving the simultaneous activation of lights. The most common form of the ceremony involves turning onChristmas lights .One of the older of such community events began at
Colonial Williamsburg , the restored Historic District of the formerVirginia capital city of Williamsburg in1935 . It is held there each year on the Sunday of the first full weekend in December. (That is, if December begins on a Sunday, the event is held the following Sunday.) Williamsburg's Grand Illumination, which also involves fireworks, is based loosely on the colonial (and English) tradition of placing lightedcandle s in the windows of homes and public buildings to celebrate a special event. The winning of a war and the birthday of the reigningmonarch are examples of such national events. Many candles appeared in darkened windows in New York after theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks .In recent times, in many cities much larger than Williamsburg, such as
Richmond, Virginia , multipleskyscraper s and other buildings are decorated with long mostly-vertical strings of lights of a common theme, and are activated simultaneously in "Grand Illumination" ceremonies. Some communities, such asNorfolk, Virginia andAsheville, North Carolina , have Grand Illuminationparade s. InChattanooga, Tennessee , a similar event is called the "Grand Illumination On The River." InOak Bluffs, Massachusetts onMartha's Vineyard , Grand Illumination is one of the most significant events each summer, immediately preceded by a Community Sing. In theUnited Kingdom , the "Grand Illumination" ceremony is generally referred to as "Turning On The Lights", and occurs in virtually all towns and cities throughout the country.ee also
*
Christmas tree
*Fourth of July
*Holiday Trail of Lights
*Colonial Williamsburg External links and sources
* [http://www.drellenrudolph.com/illumination/ The 'Grand Illumination' in Williamsburg's Historic District] many photos
* [http://www.downtownnorfolk.org/grand_illumination_parade.shtml Norfolk's Grand Illumination Parade]
* [http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_75745.asp Grand Illumination On The River, Chattanooga, Tennessee]
* [http://www.mvcma.org/grand.htm Grand Illumination at the Campground in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
