Colonial Williamsburg Holidays
Light up your days . . . and your evenings
Enjoy old traditions and new programs that create a Colonial Williamsburg Christmas Experience. See the skies over the Historic Area alight with aerial displays during the holiday favorite Grand Illumination, on Dec. 4, when musical performances begin at 5:15 p.m. and fireworks at 7 p.m. Begin your evening with the Groaning Board, a grand feast of holiday favorites and entertainment by balladeers, Fifes and Drums and madrigal singers (Dec. 4, at 4:30 p.m.).
Get into the Christmas spirit with a walk through the Historic Area to survey all the iconic natural decorations. Take a guided tour and learn how they're created with our Christmas Decorations Walking Tour (Nov. 27 - Dec. 31 times vary). Find out about the first Christmas tree in Williamsburg, discover colonial traditions and customs, and learn how we arrived at our own traditions through Christmastide at Home (various days throughout the season).
If you fancy music and dance, join us to celebrate Queen Charlotte's birth night and the christening of newborn Lady Virginia with Lady Dunmore's Ball at the Governor's Palace (Dec. 10). Experience songs and musical pieces on period and reproduction instruments, all from Thomas Jefferson's time, with the new program, Mr. Jefferson's Musical Family (Dec. 22, at 10:30 a.m.). Take the whole family to see the Holiday Memories Shadow Puppet Show (Dec. 27 & 29, at 10:30 a.m.), which brings the magic of the holidays to life with special effects, live music and storytelling.
Don't forget the modern-day traditions! Witness an unforgettable one-man performance of A Christmas Carol by Gerald Charles Dickens, the great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens, with Holiday Tea with Dickens and An Evening with Dickens (Dec. 22 and 24, 2:30 - 5 p.m. and 7 - 9 p.m., respectively). See the annual Community Christmas Tree Lighting in Market Square (Dec. 24, at 5:30 p.m.).
Bring home the memories that only a Colonial Williamsburg Christmas experience can create. Everything you need to plan your Christmas visit can be found on our website, colonialwilliamsburg.com/holidays.