Biden to participate in final White House Christmas tree lighting of presidency
President Joe Biden will participate in the annual Christmas tree lighting at the Ellipse on Thursday, his last appearance at the annual tradition before leaving the White House next year.
Mr. Biden returned to the White House early Thursday after enjoying his time there. Angola early this week. Before he left, he made a comment that caused an uproar. full pardon for sonHunter was convicted on federal drug and firearms charges and pleaded guilty to tax charges. Asked about the pardon earlier this week, the first lady, who attended every day of Hunter Biden’s trial in Delaware, said: “I certainly support pardoning my son.”
This year’s Christmas tree is a 35-foot-tall red spruce from the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest in Virginia. The 58 smaller trees were decorated with ornaments designed by students from various states and territories.
The 102nd Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will be hosted by Mickey Guyton and will feature Adam Blackstone, Stephen Sanchez, James Taylor and Theresa Yell Trisha Yearwood will also perform. Viewers can watch the full awards show on December 20 on CBS.
2024 White House Holiday Decorations
Official White House photo by Erin Scott
The Christmas tree lighting is the final part of the White House’s holiday makeover, with this year’s theme being “A Season of Peace and Light.”
First lady Jill Biden unveiled holiday decorations in the East Room on Monday and spoke to the volunteers who brought the winter wonderland to life.
“As we celebrate our final holiday at the White House, we are guided by the values we hold sacred: faith, family, service to our country, kindness to all our neighbors, and the strength of community,” she said.
Decorating the White House halls required more than 300 volunteers from across the country as well as approximately 9,810 feet of ribbon, 28,125 ornaments and 2,200 paper doves.
Official White House photo by Erin Scott
The White House expects to welcome more than 100,000 visitors during the holidays. On Tuesday, the first lady welcomed the families of National Guard members to be the first to view the decorations. Upon arrival, visitors will see a Christmas tree dedicated to Gold Star families, with six stacked stars representing all six branches of the military. Along the east colonnade, guests will be surrounded by bells “symbolizing the peaceful sounds of the festive season”. In the East Room, a reflective canopy next to a chandelier shimmers like falling snow, and two large Christmas trees guard the entrance.
According to the White House, the first known Christmas tree in the White House was in 1889 during the administration of Benjamin Harrison. It was a much smaller event, with just a Christmas tree in the second-floor oval room decorated with candles from President Harrison’s grandchildren.
The annual Gingerbread White House manages to mix 25 sheets of gingerbread dough, 10 sheets of sugar cookie dough, 65 pounds of fondant, 45 pounds of chocolate, 50 pounds of royal icing and 10 pounds of gum paste into the shape of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Anna Money Tree/Getty Images
Volunteers bring decorations to life
Alisa Cooper de Uribe, a first-grade bilingual teacher at New Mexico International School in Albuquerque and the 2021 New Mexico Teacher of the Year, was one of the volunteers who gathered thousands of pigeons. She traveled to Washington, D.C. with her family to be part of the White House decorating team.
“It’s a sisterhood, it’s a brotherhood. It’s a very united atmosphere,” Cooper DeUribe told CBS News. “One of the things that struck me was how well so many people who had never known each other came together and how well these people worked together.”
Festival volunteers are teachers, military families, nurses and small business owners from across the country who all applied before being selected to work on the decorations. On a sunny day the day after Thanksgiving, volunteers arrived at the White House for a full day of glitter and wreaths before the First Lady unveiled all of their work. The first lady’s office extends a special invitation to national Teacher of the Year honorees like DeUribe, inviting them to join the holiday volunteer tradition. Some volunteers have formed text chains and Facebook groups with the intention of staying in touch long after the decorations are taken down.
The centerpiece of holiday decorations
The centerpiece of the holiday decor in the Blue Room is an 18.5-foot-tall Fraser fir from the Cattner family of Cattner Christmas Tree Farm in North Carolina. that tree is one of the survivors When Hurricane Helene struck the Blue Ridge Mountains, thousands of people suffered a devastating blow. The owners named it “The Enormous” in recognition of the North Carolina community’s resilience to the effects of Hurricane Helene.
In the State Dining Room, Christmas tree ornaments feature self-portraits of students, including four De Uribe first-year students.
“This is an opportunity for students to see themselves reflected in the White House and in this season, which is their place, and an opportunity for them to express their personal and unique selves and their culture through portraits,” Deuri Wei said.
