Photo: Alex Wong / Getty Images
By: The opinion
Friday, September 20
Joe and Jill Biden light the National Christmas Tree at the White House
The season of Christmas kicked off this week in Washington DC, with bright lights and festive trees, in the spirit of the holiday.
President Joe Biden , accompanied by the first lady Jill Biden , Vice President Kamala Harris and the Second Knight Doug Emhoff, lit the National Christmas Tree outside the White House Thursday night.
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Biden delivered an optimistic message during the lighting of the National Christmas Tree. / Photo: Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images -
Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff attend the national Christmas tree lighting ceremony. / Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images -
Billy Porter performs during the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. / Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Image
The president delivered a message of optimism, telling the crowd of first responders and military families who attended: “We have a lot ahead of us.” .
“We are a great nation because of you, the American people,” Biden said. “They have made me so optimistic.”
While Biden showed a tone of optimism, the reality of the coronavirus pandemic was still present, with a smaller crowd allowed than the one that usually attends this ceremony in most years and guests were required to wear a mask despite being outside.
Last year’s ceremony had no guests and was completely virtual due to the pandemic.
The National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony started on 1923 with President Calvin Coolidge, when he lit a Vermont balsam fir of 48 feet with festive bulbs in red, white and green on the eve of N Christmas.
This year’s tree came from Middleburg, Pennsylvania, and is adorned with white and red lights. It is surrounded by smaller trees, each representing a different state and territory with unique decorations of the area handcrafted by students from across the country.
The White House Christmas tree was lit one night after the United States Capitol Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, which featured the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and the leader of minority Kevin McCarthy, Wednesday.
White Fir of 84 feet, nicknamed “Sugar Bear”, came to DC later of venturing across the country from California’s Six Rivers National Forest. The tree features hand-painted ornaments made by California residents.
Both the National Christmas Tree and the Capitol Hi Tree ll can be visited free of charge by the public until the beginning of January.
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