Christmas in Williamsburg, VA

Why does everyone have candles in the windows?

The first organized Christmas celebration in Colonial Williamsburg was held in 1936. But how did it come about? When the 1934 holiday season came around, colored lights were strung on ten trees in the Historic Area. Since it was not the effect Foundation president Kenneth Chorley had hoped for, he directed the research department to find authentic practices that could be revived. They found out that Christmas was not much of a holiday in Colonial times.

A suggestion by noted landscape architect Arthur Shurcliff to place a single lighted candle in the windows began a tradition that is carried on today. From Christmas Eve until New Year's Eve, candles were lit from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in four public buildings. Simple fresh greenery was used to decorate the doors and windows of the Palace and Raleigh Tavern.

When electric candles became available the practice caught on in the community. Visitors to Colonial Williamsburg purchased candles to take home. In 1941, the local department store sold out of their entire stock of electric candles by Christmas Eve.

Even though the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation makes it clear that placing candles in the window is not historically accurate, it is a practice that has spread across the country.