WILLIAMSBURG (AP) -- Colonial Williamsburg is kicking off the holiday season with its 76th Grand Illumination.
The event on Sunday will include fireworks, music and candlelit buildings.
The celebration begins in the afternoon with a variety of entertainment on multiple outdoor stages. The Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums also will provide 18th-century music appropriate to the season.
Officials with the historic area say illuminations were commonly used during the 18th century to celebrate major events by firing guns into the air and lighting fireworks. Those events included military victories, the birthday of the monarch and the arrival of a new colonial governor.
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