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National Christmas Tree (United States)
Encyclopedia
The National Christmas Tree is a large evergreen
tree located in the northeast quadrant of the The Ellipse near the White House
in Washington, D.C.
Each year since 1923, the tree has been decorated as a Christmas tree
. The grand illumination
of the Christmas lights on the tree by the President of the United States
early in December is an annual event. Every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt
has made formal remarks during the tree lighting ceremony. Since 1954, the event has marked the start of month-long festivities known as the Pageant of Peace. Smaller trees representing the U.S. state
s, District of Columbia, and unincorporated territories of the United States
around the National Christmas Tree are referred to as the Pathway to Peace.
from 1906 to 1907 and editor of Electrical World and Electrical Merchandising from 1915 to 1921. In 1921, Feiker joined the personal staff of United States Secretary of Commerce
Herbert Hoover
as a press aide. The Society for Electrical Development (an electrical industry trade group) was looking for a way to encourage people to purchase more electric Christmas lights
and use electricity, and Feiker suggested that President Calvin Coolidge
personally light the tree as a way of giving Christmas lights prominence and social cachet. One of Vermont's Republican
Senator
Frank L. Greene
accompanied Feiker to the White House, where they successfully convinced Coolidge to light the tree.
Feiker arranged for Paul Moody
, president of Middlebury College
in Vermont
to donate a 48 feet (14.6 m) tall balsam fir as the first National Christmas Tree. Middlebury College alumni paid to have it shipped via express to Washington. The branches on the lower 10 feet (3 m) of the tree were damaged in transit, so cut branches from a local evergreen were tied to the tree to restore its appearance.
Feiker put together a group of local civic organizations to erect the tree in the center of the Ellipse and decorate it, and the U.S. electrical industry donated $5,000 worth of electrical cables (which were buried under the Ellipse and provided the tree with electricity). The site for the tree was personally approved by Grace Coolidge
. Arrangements were also made to have 3,000 city school children present to sing Christmas carols and the United States Marine Band
to play music. The National Broadcasting Company
(NBC) agreed to broadcast the event on radio
. The tree was decorated with more than 2,500 electric bulbs in red, white, and green donated by the Electric League of Washington.
At 3:00 P.M., a 100-voice choir from the First Congregational Church assembled on the South Portico of the White House and began a two-hour concert of Christmas carols. At 5:00 P.M. (dusk) on Christmas Eve
, President Coolidge touched a button at the foot of the tree which lit the ornaments, but he did not speak. A searchlight from the nearby Washington Monument
was trained on the tree to help illuminate it as well. The Coolidge family invited citizens of the city to sing Christmas carols on the Ellipse after dark. Between 5,000 and 6,000 people thronged the park, joined by 3,000 more people by 9:00 P.M. The crowds were joined by the Epiphany Church and First Congregational Church choirs, which sang carols, and the Marine Band played Christmas-themed music. The singing ended shortly before midnight. After the white residents of the city had dispersed, African American
residents of the city were permitted on the park grounds to see the National Christmas Tree. An outdoor Christian worship service was held, and a mass choir composed of signing groups from area community centers sang more Christmas carols. A illuminated Christian cross was flashed on the Washington Monument, and men dressed as shepherds walked from the National Christmas Tree to the monument.
in which he criticized cutting down trees for use as Christmas decorations. Feiker believed this was the end of the Christmas tree lighting ceremony, but his wife suggested that a live tree be used instead. Feiker, accompanied by T.H. Ormesby of the Society for Electrical Development and Republican Representative
Hamilton Fish II
extended the invitation to light the tree to Coolidge on December 6, which he again accepted.
Will H. Hays
, chairman of the Republican National Committee
, was also chairman of Amawalk Nursery, and Hays arranged for a live, 30-year-old, 35 feet (10.7 m) Norway spruce to be delivered to the capital. The tree arrived in the city on December 13 and was planted on December 18 on the west side of Sherman Plaza (the patio, garden, and public square just south of the Treasury Building
and its adjacent Alexander Hamilton Place). The tree was planted by the American Forestry Assocation, and decorated with 1,000 red, white, and green lights and white electric candles again provided by the Electric League of Washington. The organization donated the strings of lights to the federal government. Power was provided by the Potomac Electric Power Company
via an open manhole on the plaza. The tree was now called the National Community Christmas Tree, and the Community Center Department of the District of Columbia Public Schools coordinated the choirs for the event while the United States Army Band
provided music.
Coolidge threw a switch at 8:00 P.M. to light the tree. It was the only year a switch was used; before and since, a button has been pushed. Although he did not address the people, he and Mrs. Grace Coolidge
stayed to sing Christmas carols with the large crowd of several thousand. Dr. Jason Noble Pierce, pastor of the First Congregational Church, wrote a new Christmas carol, "Christmas Bells," which was dedicated to Mrs. Coolidge (the Coolidge's son, Calvin Coolidge, Jr.
, had died on July 7 from blood poisoning
). The 70-voice First Congregational Church choir sang the carol for the Coolidges, accompanied by buglers and flute provided by the U.S. Army Band.
An inspection of the National Community Christmas Tree in 1929 found that the tree had been severely damaged by the decoration process and the heat and weight of the lights. Amawalk nurseries again donated a living tree, this one a 35 feet (10.7 m) tall Norway spruce. It was planted on May 29, 1929. The year 1929 was special in other ways, too. It was the first time that Christmas tree decorations (not just lights) were placed on the tree. To prevent the tree from being damaged during decoration, scaffolding was erected around the tree (instead of ladders placed into the branches), lighter strings of lights were used, lights with a lower wattage were employed, and a low fence erected around the tree so that its roots would not be trampled. Although much of the Christmas choral and music program remained unchanged (the ceremony reverted to its 6:00 P.M. time again), the 1929 event was notable for another reason as well. That evening, as President Herbert Hoover
and Mrs. Lou Henry Hoover
entertained children from the local community, a fire broke out in the West Wing
of the White House. While Mrs. Hoover quietly moved the children into the East Wing and safety, the President and other men rushed into the West Wing where they retrieved furniture, files, historic items, important papers, Hoover's personal effects, and even a puppy (being given as a gift to one of the children). The West Wing (including the Oval Office
) was gutted and had to be rebuilt.
The National Community Christmas Tree was again found to be so severely damaged in 1931 that it was replaced a second time. The National Park Service history of the tree concludes that although there is no documentation that the tree was removed, photographic evidence clearly shows the 35 feet (10.7 m) tall Norway spruce had been replaced by a 25 feet (7.6 m) tall blue spruce. The National Park Service believes this tree was obtained from the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capitol (an independent federal agency) in the spring of 1931. During the 1931 ceremony, a buzzer went off when Hoover lit the tree at 5:00 P.M. Because the button he pressed was not actually connected to the electricity, the buzzer alerted another official to actually light the tree. The button the president pushed would not be reconnected to actual electricity again until 1980.
Changes also occurred in 1932. President Hoover and his family were vacationing away from the White House that year, so Vice President
Charles Curtis
lit the tree at 5:00 P.M. on December 24. Loudspeakers connected to a phonograph
were concealed in the branches of the tree, and Christmas carols were played every night from 6:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. until New Year's Day. The Singing Tree was a hit with the public, and although music and choirs continued to perform each year, the tradition of the Singing Tree lasted for several more decades.
In 1933, the National Community Christmas Tree stood alone on Sherman Square. All plants but the National Christmas Tree had been removed from the area in the fall and the ground regraded as part of a widening of E Street NW. During early 1934, the tree was cut down and replaced with double row of willow oaks.
in Lafayette Square. The Commission of Fine Arts opposed the plan, and suggested that two fir
trees be planted east and west of the statue instead. For a time, the National Park Service hoped to plant two trees (of an undetermined species) on the Ellipse near the White House, but in the end acceeded to the Commission of Fine Art's plan. Two 23 feet (7 m) high Fraser firs from North Carolina
were planted to the 18 to 23 ft (5.5 to 7 m) east and west of the Jackson statue. The trees were planted just a few weeks before the the tree lighting ceremony, and the western tree was chosen to begin the alternating use of the trees because it was more visible from the first family's living quarters. During the tree lighting ceremony, President Roosevelt drew attention to the statue of Andrew Jackson and asked the American people to be as courageous in the face of the depression as Jackson had been throughout his lifetime. The tree did not light when Roosevelt threw the switch. The tree remained unlight for about five seconds while Roosevelt worriedly looked about, but then the lights came on.
In 1935, the 24 feet (7.3 m) high eastern tree was used. During tree lighting ceremony, President Roosevelt extemporaneously poked fun at the previous year's lighting glitch before exhorting all Americans to come together in courage and unity as did the famous American war heroes who are honored with statues in the park: Comte de Rochambeau
, the Marquis de Lafayette, General Tadeusz Kościuszko
, Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
, and Andrew Jackson.
New star-shaped Christmas tree lights were used in 1935, but some were stolen the week after Christmas. To discourage future thefts, a temporary low octagonal fence was constructed around the 1936 tree. The method of lighting the tree also changed. The National Park Service history of the tree claims that in 1936 or 1937, the button used since since 1925 was replaced by a switchbox. The Washington Post, however, indicates that the button was still used in 1936. The box was definitely in use by 1937. It was constructed and donated by the furnished by the Electric Institute of Washington, and was engraved with the name of every person who had lit the tree since 1923. In 1938, the Electric Institute of Washington donated mercury-vapor floodlights
to the federal government, which were used to help to illuminate the tree.
In 1939, the National Community Christmas Tree was moved back to the Ellipse. Reasons for moving the event varied. The National Park Police said it was because the Ellipse was more spacious. A 36 feet (11 m) high red cedar
was dug up from along the Mount Vernon Memorial Parkway
in Virginia
, and planted just a few days before Christmas at a site just south of the center of the Ellipse. (The tree was replanted back at its old site after January 1, 1940.) The tree was the second-highest national Christmas tree in the history of the event, and it required 700 hand-colored light bulbs, 100 hand-crafted glass stars and several mercury-vapor floodlights to decorate and illuminate. More than 8,000 people attended the 1939 ceremony. The tradition of the "Singing Tree" was discontinued this year, however.
The tradition of using a briefly-transplanted tree occurred again in 1940. The 1940 tree was a 34 feet (10.4 m) high red cedar. More than 700 hand-colored lights, 700 ornaments, and six blue-green mercury-vapor lights were used to light and decorate the tree. Once more, the tree was taken from along the Mount Vernon Memorial Parkway and replanted after January 1.
In 1941, however, the National Christmas Tree was relocated to just inside the south fence on the South Lawn of the White House. President Roosevelt personally made the request (after having discussed the issue with Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt
on December 24, 1940) so that the ceremony could be a more "homey" experience. Two live, 35 feet (10.7 m) high Oriental spruce trees were taken from the White House grounds itself and planted 100 feet (30.5 m) north of the south fence of the White House (each about 25 feet (7.6 m) off the north-south axis with the Jefferson Memorial
). As with the trees in Lafayette Park, they were to be used in alternate years. After the attack on Pearl Harbor
on December 7, there was concern that the tree would not be lit due to security concerns. But the ceremony and musical program went ahead as planned, with the east tree serving as the year's National Community Christmas Tree. On December 22, British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
secretly arrived in the United States about the HMS Duke of York
and flew the remaining 150 miles (241.4 km) to Washington, where he stayed with President Roosevelt in the White House for the Arcadia Conference
. At 4:00 P.M. on December 24, the southeast and southwest gates of the South Lawn were opened, and between 20,000 and 40,000 people entered the grounds (searched and watched over by U.S. Army soldiers, D.C. Metropolitan Police
, and agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
). Another 2,000 to 3,000 people waited outside the fence. On the portico of the White House with Roosevelt and Churchill stood Crown Prince Olav
and Crown Princess Märtha
of Norway and their three children; Roosevelt confidante Harry Hopkins
; Attorney General
Francis Biddle
; Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
Stanley Forman Reed
; and Associate Justice Robert H. Jackson
. (Norway had been occupied by Nazi Germany
on April 9, 1940.) Although warned that it was a security risk, Roosevelt and Churchill remained on the portico for the entire hour-long program. The crowd was kept at least 330 feet (100.6 m) from the White House porch.
For the first time in its history, the National Community Christmas Tree was not lit in 1942 due to the need to conserve power and observe security restrictions on outdoor lighting. For security reasons, it was not lit again until after the war concluded in 1945. Nonetheless, President Roosevelt continued to give a national radio address on what would have been the date of the tree lighting ceremony during these three years. Ornaments for the 1942 tree were donated by local D.C. schoolchildren, and limited to the colors red, white, and blue. With the president and his family spending Christmas of 1943 at the family home of Springwood
in Hyde Park, New York
, and with concern that the tree ceremony might worsen the transportation overcrowding situation in the city, the decision was made to cancel the National Community Christmas Tree decoration altogether. But Eleanor Roosevelt requested that the ceremony proceed, and it did. Once more, local children contributed the tree's ornaments (which were again permitted to be multi-colored). Each ornament had a small white tag attached to it, commemorating an American soldier, sailor, or flier who had been wounded, killed, or gone missing in combat. Roosevelt was in Hyde Park again in 1944 (although Eleanor Roosevelt remained at the White House for the annual tree ceremony), and once more local schoolchildren contributed the ornaments.
televising the event. Television coverage continued to expand in the following years. In 1948, the tree included many more white bulbs in addition to the traditional red and green ones, so that the tree would look better on TV. It was also topped by a star-shaped tree topper
consisting of eight flashing bulbs. That year, for the first time since 1938, the "Singing Tree" returned.
From 1948 to 1951, President Truman spent Christmas at his home in Independence, Missouri
, and lit the National Community Christmas Tree by remote control. Declining public attendance after four years of the president's absence led organizers in January 1952 to plead for Truman's presence at the next ceremony. Truman agreed to stay at the White House for Christmas 1952, and personally lit the tree. Even though the Korean War
was raging during Christmas 1950, 1951, and 1952, crowds were still permitted on the White House grounds. The lone exception was in 1950, when crowds were kept outside the fences due to renovations going on at the White House.
and either the Girl Scouts of America
or the Camp Fire Girls
would greet the president on behalf of the people of the city of Washington. After the president returned to the White House, the band would play more music for a half hour, and then the public would be cleared from the area. In 1952, however, a group of Catholic Church sodalities
asked that a nativity scene be included in the ceremony. The request was repeated in 1953. There was also pressure to move the ceremony off the White House's South Lawn. In 1953, only 700 members of the public were allowed onto the White House grounds (while another 3,500 watched from outside the fence) due to security concerns.
1954 marked the beginning of the Pageant of Peace. The pageant was the brainchild of Edward M. Kirby, public relations counsel for the National Capitol Committee of the Washington Board of Trade
. Kirby had flown into the District of Columbia in early December 1953, and was disappointed that the city had none of the visual impact that other major metropolises did. On December 29, 1953, Kirby submitted a memo to the Board of Trade proposing a pageant of light, music, and art. The concept evolved into a three-week-long series of nightly performances and religious observances. The Board of Trade was also interested in the idea because of waning interest in the lighting ceremony. The pageant would, however, require that the Christmas tree be moved off the White House grounds and that the tree lighting ceremony be moved from Christmas Eve to earlier in December. President Dwight Eisenhower approved the plan on November 4.
The 1954 Pageant of Peace was held on December 17, 1954. The Ellipse became the site of the National Community Christmas Tree, and cut trees were used because Park Service officials felt that a living tree would interfere with the various cultural and recreational events on the Ellipse at other times of the year. The "pageant of peace" theme was intended to echo the words of the angels ("Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men") during the Annunciation to the shepherds
as found in the Authorized King James Version of the New Testament
. Most of the goods and services which made the event possible were donated: Local architecht Leon Chatelain, Jr., designed the site; Michigan State College
provided the tree; the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
and Norfolk Southern Railway
gave the transportation to get the tree to D.C.; Pepco supplied the Christmas lights and power; Hargrove Display Decorators provided the nativity scene; the peace symbols, plaques, and trees for the "Pathway of Peace" were given by 27 U.S. states and territories and 23 embassies; and the reindeer stalls, metal fencing, stage, and wooden walkways were provided by the National Park Service.
A half-hour concert by the Marine Band and the 80-voice Justin Lawrie Choir preceded the 5:00 P.M. ceremony. The Pageant of Peace included a life-size nativity scene with live animals, an outdoor stage which accommodated singing groups and tableau vivant
, and a "Children's Corner" with live reindeer and a place for children to donate toys to less fortunate children overseas. Religious ceremonies and religious and secular entertainment both occurred nightly through January 6. More than 6,000 people performed or participated in the pageant, and 22 22 embassies took part. The National Community Christmas Tree was a 67 feet (20.4 m) tall balsam fir from northern Michigan
decorated in 2,100 red, blue, and gold lights and topped by a brilliant white star. South of the tree, a "Pathway of Peace" extended in a straight line from E Street NW to the middle of the Ellipse and the National Community Christmas Tree. Smaller Christmas trees decorated by U.S. states, U.S. territories, and foreign embassies stood on either side of the pathway. These smaller trees were adorned with multi-colored lights and various kind of ornaments, and wooden boardwalks were used to guide visitors along the path and to the various parts of the pageant (which took up much of the Ellipse). Man-made snow covered the grounds, courtesy of the American Ice Co. President Eisenhower lit the tree in front of 7,500 people at 5:25 P.M. Six Boy Scouts and Cub Scout
s from around the world (flown in with funds provided by UNICEF) joined the president on the dais. Movie actor Robert Montgomery
, who served as Eisenhower's advisor on the president's television appearances, was also present. The ceremony was carried by all the major radio and television networks. The total cost of the event was set at $30,000 (about $253,000 in 2011 inflation-adjusted dollars), most of which was provided by payment in kind
(although the Board of Trade contributed $7,500 in cash).
The 1954 Pageant of Peace was a huge success. More than 6,000 people performed during the pageant. Up to 20,000 people a day visited the event. Between 300,000 and 500,000 people visited the Ellipse to see the exhibits and performances (with bumper-to-bumper traffic on nearby streets as people drove by to see the trees), and the pageant proved so popular that it was extended for two days.
A formal organization, Pageant of Peace, Inc., was formed in 1955 to take over the event from the loose confederation of business, religious, and civic groups which had organized the 1954 pageant. Spurring the legal incorporation of the group was the projected cost of the 1955 event, which was estimated to be between $35,000 and $50,000. The group was incorporated on September 30, 1955, with the Board of Trade providing the seed money for the new nonprofit organization
. President Eisenhower had suffered a serious heart attack on September 24, 1955, and was recuperating at his farm near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
, so the 1955 tree was lit remotely once more. More than 50 embassies took part in the Pathway of Peace. Attendance at the now two-week event soared to 540,000. A record 51 embassies participated in the 1956 Pageant of Peace, which included a {[convert|25|ft|m|adj=on}} high Christmas tree jointly donated by 11 Arab nations. In 1957, the Pageant of Peace culminated in a night of folk dancing at Lisner Auditorium
on the campus of George Washington University
. Foreign embassies were not invited to participate in the 1958 Pathway to Peace, after festival organizers came to believe that they were imposing on the legations. But the embassies were invited to participate again in 1959, and did so. 1959 also saw festival organizers dye the grass green for the first time. When President Eisenhower lit the tree on December 23, a "Singing Christmas Tree
" (a choir on an inclined grandstand holding candles, forming the triangular shape of a Christmas tree) formed a backdrop behind him.
President John F. Kennedy
did not light the tree in December 1961, because his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.
, had suffered a major stroke
, so Vice President
Lyndon B. Johnson
lit the tree. An electronic console nearby picked up musical sounds from performers on the stage, and altered the color and brightness of the tree's 3,000 multicolored lights. The three lighting occurred three days earlier than usual because President Kenneday had been scheduled to leave for Bermuda
to meet with British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan
. The Washington Post reported that embassies did not provide trees or symbols for the Pathway of Peace, instead participating in a music festival at Lisner Auditorium on December 26. Just 16 U.S. states provides tress for the Pathway of Peace. President Kennedy did light the 1962 tree (on December 17), although the changing lights used in 1961 were not used again. The number of Christmas trees on the Pathway of Peace now numbered 52, including all 50 states, Guam
, and Puerto Rico
.
The 1963 tree lighting ceremony was scheduled for December 18. But President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22. President Johnson declared an official 30-day period of national mourning, which delayed lighting of the National Christmas Tree until December 22. After a one-hour candle-lighting ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial
, President Johnson traveled to the Ellipse and lit the tree. That year, the General Electric
company began donating the lights for the tree, changing the lighting set every year. In addition to the life-size nativity scene, Yule log, stage, and live reindeer, the International Paper Company donated 80 cut, small Christmas trees which were decorated with white lights and erected in the shape of a "Cross of Peace" on the Ellipse. Although green dye had been used since 1959 to make the grass look green, no dye was used in 1963 due to the unusual snow which covered the grounds.
Small changes in the tree lighting scheme and pageant occurred throughout the 1960s. Instead of multi-colored lights, in 1964 the tree was lit with 5,000 red bulbs. It was decorated with 500 large gold ornaments, and instead of a star was topped with a white cross. But when British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan
visited the United States in 1965 and witnessed the tree lighting ceremony, the tree once more featured multi-colored (blue, green, and white) lights. The 53 trees on the Pathway of Peace that year were lit with red and white bulbs. This was also the first year that the American Mining Congress, a coalition of coal industry mining companies, began providing the trees of the Pathway of Peace. In 1966, the 53 Christmas trees of the Pathway of Peace were alternatively lit in all green or all blue lights, and were arranged in an arc around the National Christmas Tree rather than lining the path to it. The following year, the National Christmas Tree was lit with blue lights and encircled with strings of red and white lights, and decorated with gold balls. The tree-topper that year was not a star but a 4 feet (1.2 m) tall gold spire with a base of golden stars. The trees on the Pathway to Peace, however, returned to multi-colored lights. For the first time in the history of the tree lighting ceremony, a non-American choir (the Festival Singers of Toronto
) performed at the opening event. The National Christmas Tree used a blue, white, and yellow lighting scheme in 1968. When President Johnson lit the tree, a tree in the newly-electrified village of Nulato, Alaska
(one of 59 rural Eskimo villages to receive electricity for the first time that year). In 1969, the number of trees on the Pathway to Peace expanded to 57, to include all American unincorporated territories and the District of Columbia. The National Christmas Tree that year was decorated in bands of red and white lights, and was at the top of a huge capital letter "V" formed by the Pathway's 12 feet (3.7 m) tall Red Pine trees from eastern Ohio. The 1969 ceremony was interrupted by about 200 individuals protesting the Vietnam War, who repeatedly heckled the president during his short speech and who temporarily planted an 8 feet (2.4 m) tall "peace tree" a few yards from the National Christmas Tree. Eight adults and a youth were arrested during the event for disorderly conduct
.
The 1970 National Christmas Tree suffered several near-disasters. The 78 feet (23.8 m) tall blue spruce from South Dakota
's Black Hills
was carried to Washington, D.C., on a train. The train derailed
twice on its way to the city. The weekend before the tree lighting ceremony, the tree blew over in high winds and several cut branches had to be attached to the tree to replace damaged ones. A few days after the tree was lit, lightbulbs on the lower half of the tree began exploding after a fireproofing liquid applied to the sockets began causing shorts in the strings of lights. No anti-war protests occurred during the tree lighting ceremony in 1970, however. Women Strike for Peace
temporarily won a court order permitting them to set up an anti-Vietnam War display of 11 lighted styrofoam tombstones listing the number of American war dead near the pageant, but this ruling was overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
two days laer on December 18. (The anti-war display was set up on the Washington Monument
grounds instead.) The 1970 tree was lit by President Richard Nixon
and Andre Proctor, a local District of Columbia child whom President Nixon picked out of the crowd at the last moment to assist him with the tree-lighting. The 1970 Pageant of Peace also included a tree dedicated to prisoners of war
and soldiers missing in action
.
Vice President Spiro Agnew
lit the 1971 National Christmas Tree. Protesters briefly interrupted the beginning of Agnew's speech, chanting for peace, before Agnew and seven-year-old Gary Morris (a child in the institutional care of the city) lit the tree. On December 15, Women Strike for Peace was granted permission by Judge Joseph Cornelius Waddy
of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
to place an anti-war display next to the National Christmas Tree, but they did not have time to erect a display before the lighting ceremony. The tree-topper that year resembled a white snowflake, while the tree itself was decorated with red and white bulbs in clusters amid a wider blanket of gold lights. There were 56 trees in Pageant of Peace, plus an extra tree for POW/MIAs. Vice President Agnew again lit the tree in 1972. Assisting the Vice President was Eric Watt, 10-year-old son of future Secretary of the Interior
James G. Watt
. More than 9,000 green bulbs, 1,000 clear bulbs, and 250 5 inches (12.7 cm) globe bulbs were used to decorate the tree. The U.S. Army supplied floodlights which also helped to illuminate the tree, which was kept lit 24 hours a day. There were 57 trees representing the 50 U.S. states and territories at the Pageant of Peace, with another 75 evergreen trees for deocration. The trees were again placed in in the shape of a giant "V" rather than two parallel rows. The American Mining Congress declined to supply the smaller trees in 1972, so the state of Pennsylvania agreed to do so. Former President Harry S. Truman died on December 26, 1972. All performances at the Pageant of Peace were cancelled on December 28 (the national day of mourning for Truman), although the tree remained lit for security reasons. Although there were no protests at the tree lighting ceremony, anti-war protests were held at the Pageant of Peace on December 25 and December 30.
Having used cut trees from around the country since 1954, the Christmas Pageant of Peace reintroduced a living tree in 1973. A spontaneous, grass-roots letter writing campaign by American citizens began pressing in 1965 for a live tree. The letter-writing campaign intensified in 1969. Prodded by environmentalists, a much larger letter-writing campaign ("more letters and phone calls of protest than in the previous 10 years" a Park Service spokesperson said) occurred in the two months prior to the 1972 tree lighting ceremony, which prompted the National Park Service to bow to public pressure and plant a live tree.
A 42-foot Colorado blue spruce
from the Sunset Lake Nursey near Shickshinny, Pennsylvania
, was donated by the National Arborist Association and planted in the Ellipse close to the Zero Milestone (just east of the central north-south axis of the White House). The tree arrived in the city via flatbed truck
and was planted on October 11, 1973. The tree was badly damaged just before it was planted when it fell off the flatbed truck carrying it, an accident which had significant effects on the tree's lifespan. North of the tree, a bronze plaque was installed that read "National Christmas Tree, Transplanted October 11, 1973, Christmas Pageant of Peace Committee." Initially, the General Electric
company, which had been donating the lighting for the tree for years, developed a "cool lighting" system to help protect the tree from the heat damage caused by standard Christmas tree lights. But this scheme was subsequently abandoned due to the need to conserve energy
because of the 1973 oil crisis
. Instead, eight colored floodlights at the base of the tree were used to illuminate the National Christmas Tree's decorations and its 36 inches (91.4 cm) high gold snowflake tree-topper (although the snowflake itself was lit from within). The spotlights did not illuminate the tree directly for fear of causing heat damage; instead, the light was reflected on the tree. To further conserve energy, the National Christmas Tree was lit not 24 hours a day but only from 5 P.M. to 10 P.M.
Public pressure on the Park Service and the energy crisis also led to changes in the 1973 Pageant of Peace. The Park Service used no cut trees for the Pageant of Peace. Instead, it obtained 57 live trees and planted them on the Ellipse. After the Pageant of Peace ended, the living trees were replanted in D.C. area parks or donated to the states they were intended to represent. These trees were decorated, but had no Christmas lights due to the energy crisis. Only footlights illuminated the Pageant's trees, primarily for safety reasons. Upset by a court ruling that held that the Christian nativity scene could not be included in the Pageant of Peace, local resident Vaughn Barkdoll and a few friends formed the Christian Heritage Association and won a permit to display a nativity scene just beyond the service road encircling the Ellipse. The Barkdoll display included four sheep, a donkey
, and a Holstein calf. An American Legion
post from Hyattsville, Maryland
, erected a similar but smaller display on the opposite side of the Ellipse.
Energy conserving lights were used on the National Christmas Tree in 1974, however. More than 2,000 tiny amber and white lights (which used just a third of the wattage of pre-1973 strings of lights), as well as braided gold-colored rope and large gold ornaments, were used. The Pageant of Peace continued to feature just 57 trees, but there was competition over the nativity scene (which was no longer part of the festival). Barkdoll's Christian Heritage Association provided a creche with 2 foot (0.6096 m) high plaster figures and no live animals. The Hyattsville American Legion provided a display with life-size papier-mâché
figures and live animals including some sheep, a calf, and a burro
. A third display was provided by the Christian Service Corps (a nondenominational Christian organization whose members mixed public service with missionary work). The Christian Service Corps display included live actors in period costumes, a musical soundtrack, three camel
s, a cow, a donkey, and 15 sheep.
In 1975, the National Christmas Tree had a Bicentennial
theme. The tree was decorated with 4,600 red, white, and blue lights; red, white, and blue ornaments, and silver garland; and topped by a 4 feet (1.2 m) high gold and green Liberty Bell
. The low-watt Christmas tree lights were specially designed by General Electric. In a circle around the National Christmas Tree were 13 tall evergreen trees, symbolizing the Thirteen Colonies
. An additional 47 smaller trees formed the Pathway to Peace, representing the rest of the states, U.S. territories, POW/MIAs, and senior citizens. The 12,000 total light bulbs and 2 miles (3.2 km) of electrical cord used 40 percent less wattage than the year before. Once more, three different organizations provided three different nativity scenes away from the pageant. With the Bicentennial year ending, the 1976 National Christmas Tree was decorated with 2,500 red lamps (rather than strings of tree lights), which represented the theme "Youth." That year's Pageant of Peace was also truncated, presenting live entertainment only through December 23. However, there were now 60 trees in the Pathway to Peace.
By December 1976, it was clear that the National Christmas Tree planted just three years earlier was dying. The appearance of the tree had deteriorated significantly, with many of the lower branches dead or damaged and many parts of the tree showing large areas of dead needles. Government horticulturalists said the tree had suffered root damage and had not thrived in the hot, damp climate of Washington, D.C. David Rhoads, a citizen from Silver Spring, Maryland
, donated his 25 feet (7.6 m) tall blue spruce to the National Park Service, chopped off its branches and wired many of them to the lower part of the existing tree to cover up the damage. The tree's plight was so obvious that the public made 112 offers for a new living tree were received by the government by early December.
The 1974 tree was removed, and used for the Yule log in 1977. An anonymous resident of Potomac, Maryland
, donated a 34 feet (10.4 m) tall blue spruce as the new National Christmas tree. The new tree was planted on the Ellipse on November 3, 1977. President Jimmy Carter
, assisted by his daughter, Amy
, lit the tree during a ceremony on December 15, 1977. The tree was decorated with 2,000 five-watt green lamps (not bulbs) symbolizing "Hope," as well as 500 "twinkle lamps" and white ornaments. Due to the ongoing energy crisis, the tree was only lit from dusk to midnight from December 15 to December 26, and from dusk to 10 P.M. from December 27 to January 2. This achieved a further 74 percent reduction in energy use. A petting zoo
was added to the Pagaent of Peace for the first time.
The 1977 living tree did not last, however. January 1978 brought several severe rain and snow storms to the Washington, D.C., region, along with heavy winds, heavy precipitation, and extremes in temperatures. On Januatry 26, 62 mile per hour winds whipped through the nation's capitol (and a tornado
did damage to homes in nearby Quantico, Virginia
). Park Service officials feared the National Christmas Tree would be toppled, and attached guy-wire
s to the tree to keep it upright. But despite the additional bracing, the tree was nearly uprooted in mid-afternoon and leaned at a 45 degree angle for several hours until workers were able to get it upright again. A National Park Service spokesperson said that the agency feared the tree had suffered extensive root damage, and would not survive.
The National Park Service undertook a lengthy study to find a species of tree that could thrive in the climate and soil conditions of the capital and better withstand the annual decoration process. Agency officials traveled more than 2000 miles (3,218.7 km) to find a tree that met their specifications. A 30 feet (9.1 m) tall blue spruce, located at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William E. Myers of York, Pennsylvania
, was chosen as the new National Christmas Tree planted in the Ellipse in 1978. (The Myers offered to donate the tree, but were paid $1,500 for it.) A second tree, an 18 feet (5.5 m) tall blue spruce purchased from a nursery in New Jersey, was planted in a corner of the Ellipse in early summer 1978 for use as a spare in case the new transplanted tree did not survive. New, stronger cables were used to help brace the tree against high winds. The bronze plaque at the base of the tree was altered slightly to reflect the new date of the tree's transplanting (October 11, 1978).
The tree was topped off by First Daughter Amy Carter on December 5, 1978, a ceremony which began a new tradition of having a member of the President or Vice President's family top off the tree (a tradition observed every year since except in 1980). President Carter, assisted by his wife Rosalynn
and daughter Amy, lit the newly transplanted National Christmas Tree on December 15, 1978. The tree was illuminated by 1,600 low-watt gold lamps, floodlit with gold spotlights, and decorated with gold garland and 50 large red ornaments. Once more, each state and territory was represented by a tree on the Pathway of Peace, and the petting zoo and live reindeer both returned to the Pageant of Peace. Additionally, there was a small tree representing senior citizens, as well as a new "community tree."
In 1979, the National Christmas Tree was only partially lit. When President Jimmy Carter
sent his daughter Amy
to light the tree on December 13, the switch lit only the top star on the big tree and only tiny blue lights illuminated the state trees on the Pathway of Peace. The President announced that the National Christmas Tree, a nationwide symbol, would remain dark until the American hostages in Iran
were set free. General Electric had designed a scheme of multiple lighting and visual effects and an all white tree to coordinate with the theme of "Joy and Light," celebrating the 100th anniversary of Thomas Edison
's invention of the practical incandescent lamp
. However, the tree remained unlit. In 1980, President Carter lit the National Christmas Tree for only 417 seconds, each second symbolizing one day of captivity of the Americans hostages in Iran. When the hostages were eventually released on January 20, 1981, the tree was hastily re-decorated in time for their return.
Due to security concerns after an assassination attempt
in March 1981, President Ronald Reagan
never lit the National Christmas Tree standing on the Ellipse, but used a remote control from the White House South Portico. President George H. W. Bush
resumed this tradition in 1989. A deep, brick-lined pit was dug southwest of the Pathway of Peace in 1994 and a massive bonfire, known as "Ye Olde Yule Log," added as a yearly tradition. A Christian nativity scene
and live music were also added that year. In 1995, the National Christmas Tree was lit by solar energy
for the first time. In 2007, LED
Christmas lights
were used, and the tree topper
was refurbished to use them also. That same year, the tree lighting ceremony was officially named the Lighting of the National Christmas Tree.
On Saturday, February 19, 2011, the National Christmas tree was felled after its trunk snapped in a windstorm which contained gusts of up to 50 mile per hour. National Park Service spokesman Bill Line noted the tree was at risk since it stood alone exposed to the elements and lacked the protection of other trees. Knowing the tree was at risk and would eventually need replaced, a successor tree had already been selected. The new tree was planted on March 19, 2011. The new tree is a 26.5 feet (8.1 m) tall Colorado blue spruce which was obtained from an unnamed tree nursery in New Jersey.
A temporary gravel road is constructed in the northeast quadrant of the Ellipse each year to give workers access to the tree for decoration. A wooden snow fence
is installed near the tree and around the Pageant of Peace area each year as well to protect the lawn during periods of high foot traffic.
According to the National Park Service, since the National Christmas Tree and its associated ceremonies go back to a historic period in the nation's history, this cultural event has not only become historically important itself but has helped to protect the historic integrity of the Ellipse. The agency says that the tree has become "a defining feature of President's Park South".
A "backup National Christmas Tree" is occasionally mentioned by many sources. This tree is located southwest of Ellipse Road, where the path from the 17th Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW meets the Ellipse sidewalk. This tree was planted by the National Park Service as a replacement for the National Christmas Tree. However, this tree is not historic, did not grow well, and by 2010 was not considered as a backup for the National Christmas Tree any longer. When cut trees were used, backup trees were also identified. In 1971, the National Park Service revealed that it required four trees to be selected as "the" National Christmas Tree. One would be the actual tree used; two would be replacement trees in case some accident befell the primary tree; and the four tree was cut up and its branches used to fill out bare spots in the primary tree.
A stage and a blue plywood amphitheater are erected southeast of the National Christmas Tree, and the placement of heavy plastic mats and metal folding chairs in front of the stage (with seating for only 200 people at most) creates an audience area for performances. A plywood nativity scene, 15 by Yule log fire pit, and barn for donkeys, reinder, and sheep built south of the Pathway of Peace. Speakers on high stands throughout the area broadcast the live performances, or provide recorded music for viewers' enjoyment. Since the Pageant of Peace and Pathway of Peace are traditions extending back only to 1954, they are not considered historic elements by the National Park Service.
The first legal challenge occurred in 1968 when the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) objected to the inclusion of the Christian navtivity scene in the pageant. The ACLU argued the display violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution
. Although the National Park Service responded that the nativity scene was not religious per se but a symbol "of the national holiday", the agency did agree not to store, maintain, or erect the display (turning those duties over to Pageant of Peace, Inc., in September 1968). The legal effort to remove the creche continued the following year. In 1969, three clergymen, an atheist, and a member of the Ethical Society sued to have the nativity scene removed. Once more, the Park Service said the nativity scene was merely a symbol "our spiritual heritage" and "wholly secular". The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied on December 12, 1969, a request for a temporary injunction barring construction of the display. The court's ruling said it would decide the case on its merits at a later date. The five plaintiffs were represented by the ACLU, and joined by the American Jewish Congress
.
In April 1970, the court of appeals ordered a full trial on the issue. Although the trial was set for February 1, 1971, the plaintiffs and ACLU declined to seek a temporary injunction against the display in December 1970 in favor of a permanent resolution of the issue. On November 3, 1971, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in Allen v. Morton, 333 F.Supp. 1088, (D.D.C. 1971), that inclusion of the nativity display did not violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. The court said that the purpose of the event was purely secular (to increase tourism and shopping in the city), and that was determinative. But on September 26, 1973, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned the district court's ruling. The appellate court held that the commercial nature of the event did not mean that the creche lost its religious meaning, and that the government's involvement in displaying the creche was not the absolute minimum necessary to meet the Supreme Court's constitutional tests. The appellate court did not explicity bar the government from allowing the nativity display, but laid out very specific rules under which the government's participation could occur.
In 1978, another lawsuit over the Pageant of Peace was filed. The government had banned all groups not associated with the Pageant of Peace from the Ellipse (even though it only used a one-fourth of the Ellipse's total area for the pageant), but permitted them to use lightly wooded areas nearby. The government argued that it had to avoid any appearance of government sponsorship of any religion and to be even-handed with all groups. The Christian Service Corps sued, arguing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on December 16, 1978, that it was unreasonable to keep all groups off the Ellipse during this time. On December 20, the court ruled that the Park Service's rules did not violate Christian Service Corps' constitutional rights.
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
tree located in the northeast quadrant of the The Ellipse near the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Each year since 1923, the tree has been decorated as a Christmas tree
Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
. The grand illumination
Grand Illumination
A Grand Illumination is an outdoor ceremony involving the simultaneous activation of lights. The most common form of the ceremony involves turning on Christmas lights....
of the Christmas lights on the tree by the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
early in December is an annual event. Every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
has made formal remarks during the tree lighting ceremony. Since 1954, the event has marked the start of month-long festivities known as the Pageant of Peace. Smaller trees representing the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s, District of Columbia, and unincorporated territories of the United States
Unincorporated territories of the United States
Unincorporated territory is a legal term of art in United States law denoting an area controlled by the government of the United States, but which is not a part of the United States proper ....
around the National Christmas Tree are referred to as the Pathway to Peace.
Beginnings of the National Christmas Tree tradition
1923 tree
The idea of a decorated, outdoor national Christmas tree originated with Frederick Morris Feiker. Feiker was a highly educated engineer who had been a technical journalist for General ElectricGeneral Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
from 1906 to 1907 and editor of Electrical World and Electrical Merchandising from 1915 to 1921. In 1921, Feiker joined the personal staff of United States Secretary of Commerce
United States Secretary of Commerce
The United States Secretary of Commerce is the head of the United States Department of Commerce concerned with business and industry; the Department states its mission to be "to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce"...
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
as a press aide. The Society for Electrical Development (an electrical industry trade group) was looking for a way to encourage people to purchase more electric Christmas lights
Christmas lights
Christmas lights are lights used for decoration around Christmas. The use of decorative, festive lighting during the Christmas holiday season is a long standing tradition in many Christian cultures, and has been adopted as a secular practice in a number of other non-Christian, or predominantly...
and use electricity, and Feiker suggested that President Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
personally light the tree as a way of giving Christmas lights prominence and social cachet. One of Vermont's Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Frank L. Greene
Frank L. Greene
Frank Lester Greene was a United States Representative and Senator from Vermont. Born in St. Albans, Vermont, he attended the public schools and was employed by the Central Vermont Railway Co. in various capacities from 1883 to 1891...
accompanied Feiker to the White House, where they successfully convinced Coolidge to light the tree.
Feiker arranged for Paul Moody
Paul Dwight Moody
Paul Dwight Moody , son of famed evangelical minister Dwight L. Moody, served as pastor at South Congregational Church in St. Johnsbury, VT from 1912 to 1917 and as the 10th president of Middlebury College from 1921 until 1943...
, president of Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
to donate a 48 feet (14.6 m) tall balsam fir as the first National Christmas Tree. Middlebury College alumni paid to have it shipped via express to Washington. The branches on the lower 10 feet (3 m) of the tree were damaged in transit, so cut branches from a local evergreen were tied to the tree to restore its appearance.
Feiker put together a group of local civic organizations to erect the tree in the center of the Ellipse and decorate it, and the U.S. electrical industry donated $5,000 worth of electrical cables (which were buried under the Ellipse and provided the tree with electricity). The site for the tree was personally approved by Grace Coolidge
Grace Coolidge
Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge was the wife of Calvin Coolidge and First Lady of the United States from 1923 to 1929.-Biography:...
. Arrangements were also made to have 3,000 city school children present to sing Christmas carols and the United States Marine Band
United States Marine Band
The United States Marine Band is the premier band of the United States Marine Corps. Established by act of Congress on July 11, 1798, it is the oldest of the United States military bands and the oldest professional musical organization in the United States...
to play music. The National Broadcasting Company
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
(NBC) agreed to broadcast the event on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
. The tree was decorated with more than 2,500 electric bulbs in red, white, and green donated by the Electric League of Washington.
At 3:00 P.M., a 100-voice choir from the First Congregational Church assembled on the South Portico of the White House and began a two-hour concert of Christmas carols. At 5:00 P.M. (dusk) on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
, President Coolidge touched a button at the foot of the tree which lit the ornaments, but he did not speak. A searchlight from the nearby Washington Monument
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
was trained on the tree to help illuminate it as well. The Coolidge family invited citizens of the city to sing Christmas carols on the Ellipse after dark. Between 5,000 and 6,000 people thronged the park, joined by 3,000 more people by 9:00 P.M. The crowds were joined by the Epiphany Church and First Congregational Church choirs, which sang carols, and the Marine Band played Christmas-themed music. The singing ended shortly before midnight. After the white residents of the city had dispersed, African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
residents of the city were permitted on the park grounds to see the National Christmas Tree. An outdoor Christian worship service was held, and a mass choir composed of signing groups from area community centers sang more Christmas carols. A illuminated Christian cross was flashed on the Washington Monument, and men dressed as shepherds walked from the National Christmas Tree to the monument.
1924 tree
The 1924 ceremony changed significantly. In April 1924, Coolidge gave a speech to the American Forestry AssociationAmerican Forestry Association
The American Forestry Association was formed in Chicago, Illinois in September 1875 by John Aston Warder. The current headquarters are in Washington, D.C.. The organization acts as a clearinghouse for environmental organizations working to preserve world tree growth. The "National Register of...
in which he criticized cutting down trees for use as Christmas decorations. Feiker believed this was the end of the Christmas tree lighting ceremony, but his wife suggested that a live tree be used instead. Feiker, accompanied by T.H. Ormesby of the Society for Electrical Development and Republican Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Hamilton Fish II
Hamilton Fish II
Hamilton Fish II was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:He was the son of Julia Ursin Niemcewicz Kean and Hamilton Fish. He graduated from Columbia College of Columbia University, where he was a member of St...
extended the invitation to light the tree to Coolidge on December 6, which he again accepted.
Will H. Hays
Will H. Hays
William Harrison Hays, Sr. , was the namesake of the Hays Code for censorship of American films, chairman of the Republican National Committee and U.S. Postmaster General from 1921 to 1922....
, chairman of the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
, was also chairman of Amawalk Nursery, and Hays arranged for a live, 30-year-old, 35 feet (10.7 m) Norway spruce to be delivered to the capital. The tree arrived in the city on December 13 and was planted on December 18 on the west side of Sherman Plaza (the patio, garden, and public square just south of the Treasury Building
Treasury Building (Washington, D.C.)
The Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. is a National Historic Landmark building which is the headquarters of the United States Department of the Treasury....
and its adjacent Alexander Hamilton Place). The tree was planted by the American Forestry Assocation, and decorated with 1,000 red, white, and green lights and white electric candles again provided by the Electric League of Washington. The organization donated the strings of lights to the federal government. Power was provided by the Potomac Electric Power Company
PEPCO
PEPCO may refer to:* Portland Electric Power Company* Potomac Electric Power Company* Pakistan Electric Power Company...
via an open manhole on the plaza. The tree was now called the National Community Christmas Tree, and the Community Center Department of the District of Columbia Public Schools coordinated the choirs for the event while the United States Army Band
United States Army Band
Founded in 1922, the United States Army Band – known as "Pershing's Own" – is the premier musical organization of the United States Army. Before 2002, the United States Army Band was the only Washington-based military band to have participated in a theater of foreign combat operations...
provided music.
Coolidge threw a switch at 8:00 P.M. to light the tree. It was the only year a switch was used; before and since, a button has been pushed. Although he did not address the people, he and Mrs. Grace Coolidge
Grace Coolidge
Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge was the wife of Calvin Coolidge and First Lady of the United States from 1923 to 1929.-Biography:...
stayed to sing Christmas carols with the large crowd of several thousand. Dr. Jason Noble Pierce, pastor of the First Congregational Church, wrote a new Christmas carol, "Christmas Bells," which was dedicated to Mrs. Coolidge (the Coolidge's son, Calvin Coolidge, Jr.
Calvin Coolidge, Jr.
Calvin Coolidge Jr. was the son of President Calvin Coolidge-Biography:Calvin Coolidge, Jr, was born in Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, on April 13, 1908 and was the younger of the two children of Calvin Coolidge , the 30th President of the United States and Grace Anna Goodhue ,...
, had died on July 7 from blood poisoning
Sepsis
Sepsis is a potentially deadly medical condition that is characterized by a whole-body inflammatory state and the presence of a known or suspected infection. The body may develop this inflammatory response by the immune system to microbes in the blood, urine, lungs, skin, or other tissues...
). The 70-voice First Congregational Church choir sang the carol for the Coolidges, accompanied by buglers and flute provided by the U.S. Army Band.
1927 to 1933 trees
Over the next seven years, the annual National Community Christmas Tree lighting ceremony did not change in major ways. The lighting ceremony was pushed back to 6:00 P.M. in 1925 to better accommodate children's bedtimes. In 1926, a flare was fired into the air as the tree was illuminated, a tradition which occurred for several years. In 1927, a bronze marker was placed at the base of the tree, declaring it the National Community Christmas Tree. The tree was decorated with improved lighting strings (which only required 500 multi-colored bulbs) as well as with 2,000 light-scattering jewels. Colored floodlights at the base of the tree also helped provide color. President Coolidge briefly addressed the crowd, beginning a tradition of a brief presidential speech during the ceremony. NBC broadcast a selection of Christmas carols from speakers placed around the tree from 9:00 P.M. until midnight. In 1928, the time of the lighting ceremony was again moved to 8:00 P.M. That year, the Christmas lights were replaced completely by colored floodlights.An inspection of the National Community Christmas Tree in 1929 found that the tree had been severely damaged by the decoration process and the heat and weight of the lights. Amawalk nurseries again donated a living tree, this one a 35 feet (10.7 m) tall Norway spruce. It was planted on May 29, 1929. The year 1929 was special in other ways, too. It was the first time that Christmas tree decorations (not just lights) were placed on the tree. To prevent the tree from being damaged during decoration, scaffolding was erected around the tree (instead of ladders placed into the branches), lighter strings of lights were used, lights with a lower wattage were employed, and a low fence erected around the tree so that its roots would not be trampled. Although much of the Christmas choral and music program remained unchanged (the ceremony reverted to its 6:00 P.M. time again), the 1929 event was notable for another reason as well. That evening, as President Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
and Mrs. Lou Henry Hoover
Lou Henry Hoover
Lou Henry Hoover was the wife of President of the United States Herbert Hoover and First Lady of the United States, 1929-1933. Mrs. Hoover was president of the Girl Scouts of the USA for two terms, 1922-1925 and 1935-1937....
entertained children from the local community, a fire broke out in the West Wing
West Wing
The West Wing is the building housing the official offices of the President of the United States. It is the part of the White House Complex in which the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, the Situation Room, and the Roosevelt Room are located...
of the White House. While Mrs. Hoover quietly moved the children into the East Wing and safety, the President and other men rushed into the West Wing where they retrieved furniture, files, historic items, important papers, Hoover's personal effects, and even a puppy (being given as a gift to one of the children). The West Wing (including the Oval Office
Oval Office
The Oval Office, located in the West Wing of the White House, is the official office of the President of the United States.The room features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk, and a fireplace at the north end...
) was gutted and had to be rebuilt.
The National Community Christmas Tree was again found to be so severely damaged in 1931 that it was replaced a second time. The National Park Service history of the tree concludes that although there is no documentation that the tree was removed, photographic evidence clearly shows the 35 feet (10.7 m) tall Norway spruce had been replaced by a 25 feet (7.6 m) tall blue spruce. The National Park Service believes this tree was obtained from the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capitol (an independent federal agency) in the spring of 1931. During the 1931 ceremony, a buzzer went off when Hoover lit the tree at 5:00 P.M. Because the button he pressed was not actually connected to the electricity, the buzzer alerted another official to actually light the tree. The button the president pushed would not be reconnected to actual electricity again until 1980.
Changes also occurred in 1932. President Hoover and his family were vacationing away from the White House that year, so Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Charles Curtis
Charles Curtis
Charles Curtis was a United States Representative, a longtime United States Senator from Kansas later chosen as Senate Majority Leader by his Republican colleagues, and the 31st Vice President of the United States...
lit the tree at 5:00 P.M. on December 24. Loudspeakers connected to a phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
were concealed in the branches of the tree, and Christmas carols were played every night from 6:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. until New Year's Day. The Singing Tree was a hit with the public, and although music and choirs continued to perform each year, the tradition of the Singing Tree lasted for several more decades.
In 1933, the National Community Christmas Tree stood alone on Sherman Square. All plants but the National Christmas Tree had been removed from the area in the fall and the ground regraded as part of a widening of E Street NW. During early 1934, the tree was cut down and replaced with double row of willow oaks.
National Christmas Tree during the Great Depression and World War II
In 1934, the National Christmas Tree was relocated to Lafayette Park north of the White House. The 1931 Norway spruce had again become damaged, and the National Park Service purchased two "Koster" blue spruce cultivars to plant on the west side of Sherman Square with the intent of using alternating between trees each year. But when it became clear later that year that the National Christmas Tree would have to be moved from Sherman Square, the agency asked the Commission of Fine Arts (which had partial jurisdiction over planting decisions around the White House) for permission to the plant the two trees to the southeast and southwest of the statue of Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson (Mills)
Andrew Jackson is an equestrian statue by Clark Mills in Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.It was commissioned in May 1847, cast in 1852, and dedicated on January 8, 1853, by Stephen A...
in Lafayette Square. The Commission of Fine Arts opposed the plan, and suggested that two fir
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
trees be planted east and west of the statue instead. For a time, the National Park Service hoped to plant two trees (of an undetermined species) on the Ellipse near the White House, but in the end acceeded to the Commission of Fine Art's plan. Two 23 feet (7 m) high Fraser firs from North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
were planted to the 18 to 23 ft (5.5 to 7 m) east and west of the Jackson statue. The trees were planted just a few weeks before the the tree lighting ceremony, and the western tree was chosen to begin the alternating use of the trees because it was more visible from the first family's living quarters. During the tree lighting ceremony, President Roosevelt drew attention to the statue of Andrew Jackson and asked the American people to be as courageous in the face of the depression as Jackson had been throughout his lifetime. The tree did not light when Roosevelt threw the switch. The tree remained unlight for about five seconds while Roosevelt worriedly looked about, but then the lights came on.
In 1935, the 24 feet (7.3 m) high eastern tree was used. During tree lighting ceremony, President Roosevelt extemporaneously poked fun at the previous year's lighting glitch before exhorting all Americans to come together in courage and unity as did the famous American war heroes who are honored with statues in the park: Comte de Rochambeau
Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau
Marshal of France Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau was a French nobleman and general who participated in the American Revolutionary War as the commander-in-chief of the French Expeditionary Force which came to help the American Continental Army...
, the Marquis de Lafayette, General Tadeusz Kościuszko
Tadeusz Kosciuszko
Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko was a Polish–Lithuanian and American general and military leader during the Kościuszko Uprising. He is a national hero of Poland, Lithuania, the United States and Belarus...
, Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben , also referred to as the Baron von Steuben, was a Prussian-born military officer who served as inspector general and Major General of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War...
, and Andrew Jackson.
New star-shaped Christmas tree lights were used in 1935, but some were stolen the week after Christmas. To discourage future thefts, a temporary low octagonal fence was constructed around the 1936 tree. The method of lighting the tree also changed. The National Park Service history of the tree claims that in 1936 or 1937, the button used since since 1925 was replaced by a switchbox. The Washington Post, however, indicates that the button was still used in 1936. The box was definitely in use by 1937. It was constructed and donated by the furnished by the Electric Institute of Washington, and was engraved with the name of every person who had lit the tree since 1923. In 1938, the Electric Institute of Washington donated mercury-vapor floodlights
Mercury-vapor lamp
A mercury-vapor lamp is a gas discharge lamp that uses an electric arc through vaporized mercury to produce light. The arc discharge is generally confined to a small fused quartz arc tube mounted within a larger borosilicate glass bulb...
to the federal government, which were used to help to illuminate the tree.
Juniperus virginiana
Juniperus virginiana is a species of juniper native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, east of the Great Plains...
was dug up from along the Mount Vernon Memorial Parkway
George Washington Memorial Parkway
The George Washington Memorial Parkway, known to local motorists simply as the "G.W. Parkway", is a parkway maintained by the U.S. National Park Service. It is located mostly in Northern Virginia, although a short section northwest of the Arlington Memorial Bridge passes over Columbia Island,...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and planted just a few days before Christmas at a site just south of the center of the Ellipse. (The tree was replanted back at its old site after January 1, 1940.) The tree was the second-highest national Christmas tree in the history of the event, and it required 700 hand-colored light bulbs, 100 hand-crafted glass stars and several mercury-vapor floodlights to decorate and illuminate. More than 8,000 people attended the 1939 ceremony. The tradition of the "Singing Tree" was discontinued this year, however.
The tradition of using a briefly-transplanted tree occurred again in 1940. The 1940 tree was a 34 feet (10.4 m) high red cedar. More than 700 hand-colored lights, 700 ornaments, and six blue-green mercury-vapor lights were used to light and decorate the tree. Once more, the tree was taken from along the Mount Vernon Memorial Parkway and replanted after January 1.
In 1941, however, the National Christmas Tree was relocated to just inside the south fence on the South Lawn of the White House. President Roosevelt personally made the request (after having discussed the issue with Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
on December 24, 1940) so that the ceremony could be a more "homey" experience. Two live, 35 feet (10.7 m) high Oriental spruce trees were taken from the White House grounds itself and planted 100 feet (30.5 m) north of the south fence of the White House (each about 25 feet (7.6 m) off the north-south axis with the Jefferson Memorial
Jefferson Memorial
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial in Washington, D.C. that is dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father and the third President of the United States....
). As with the trees in Lafayette Park, they were to be used in alternate years. After the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
on December 7, there was concern that the tree would not be lit due to security concerns. But the ceremony and musical program went ahead as planned, with the east tree serving as the year's National Community Christmas Tree. On December 22, British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
secretly arrived in the United States about the HMS Duke of York
HMS Duke of York (17)
HMS Duke of York was a King George V-class battleship of the Royal Navy. Laid down in May 1937, the ship was constructed by John Brown and Company at Clydebank, Scotland, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 4 November 1941, subsequently seeing service during the Second World War.In...
and flew the remaining 150 miles (241.4 km) to Washington, where he stayed with President Roosevelt in the White House for the Arcadia Conference
Arcadia Conference
The First Washington Conference, also known as the Arcadia Conference , was held in Washington, D.C. from December 22, 1941 to January 14, 1942. It was the first meeting on military strategy between the heads of government of the United Kingdom and the United States following the United States'...
. At 4:00 P.M. on December 24, the southeast and southwest gates of the South Lawn were opened, and between 20,000 and 40,000 people entered the grounds (searched and watched over by U.S. Army soldiers, D.C. Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia
The Metropolitan Police Department, also known as the DC Police, DCPD, MPD, and MPDC is the municipal police force in Washington, D.C...
, and agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
). Another 2,000 to 3,000 people waited outside the fence. On the portico of the White House with Roosevelt and Churchill stood Crown Prince Olav
Olav V of Norway
Olav V was the king of Norway from 1957 until his death. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Olav was born in the United Kingdom as the son of King Haakon VII of Norway and Queen Maud of Norway...
and Crown Princess Märtha
Princess Märtha of Sweden
Princess Märtha of Sweden , full name Märtha Sofia Lovisa Dagmar Thyra was the granddaughter of King Oscar II of Sweden and the consort of Crown Prince Olav of Norway . She was the first Crown Princess of Norway in modern times who was not also Crown Princess of Sweden or Denmark...
of Norway and their three children; Roosevelt confidante Harry Hopkins
Harry Hopkins
Harry Lloyd Hopkins was one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's closest advisers. He was one of the architects of the New Deal, especially the relief programs of the Works Progress Administration , which he directed and built into the largest employer in the country...
; Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
Francis Biddle
Francis Biddle
Francis Beverley Biddle was an American lawyer and judge who was Attorney General of the United States during World War II and who served as the primary American judge during the postwar Nuremberg trials....
; Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
Stanley Forman Reed
Stanley Forman Reed
Stanley Forman Reed was a noted American attorney who served as United States Solicitor General from 1935 to 1938 and as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1938 to 1957. He was the last Supreme Court Justice who did not graduate from law school Stanley Forman Reed (December 31,...
; and Associate Justice Robert H. Jackson
Robert H. Jackson
Robert Houghwout Jackson was United States Attorney General and an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court . He was also the chief United States prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials...
. (Norway had been occupied by Nazi Germany
Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...
on April 9, 1940.) Although warned that it was a security risk, Roosevelt and Churchill remained on the portico for the entire hour-long program. The crowd was kept at least 330 feet (100.6 m) from the White House porch.
For the first time in its history, the National Community Christmas Tree was not lit in 1942 due to the need to conserve power and observe security restrictions on outdoor lighting. For security reasons, it was not lit again until after the war concluded in 1945. Nonetheless, President Roosevelt continued to give a national radio address on what would have been the date of the tree lighting ceremony during these three years. Ornaments for the 1942 tree were donated by local D.C. schoolchildren, and limited to the colors red, white, and blue. With the president and his family spending Christmas of 1943 at the family home of Springwood
Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site
The Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site preserves the Springwood estate in Hyde Park, New York, United States of America. Springwood was the birthplace, lifelong home, and burial place of the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt...
in Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town located in the northwest part of Dutchess County, New York, United States, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie. The town is most famous for being the hometown of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt....
, and with concern that the tree ceremony might worsen the transportation overcrowding situation in the city, the decision was made to cancel the National Community Christmas Tree decoration altogether. But Eleanor Roosevelt requested that the ceremony proceed, and it did. Once more, local children contributed the tree's ornaments (which were again permitted to be multi-colored). Each ornament had a small white tag attached to it, commemorating an American soldier, sailor, or flier who had been wounded, killed, or gone missing in combat. Roosevelt was in Hyde Park again in 1944 (although Eleanor Roosevelt remained at the White House for the annual tree ceremony), and once more local schoolchildren contributed the ornaments.
Later National Christmas Trees
The lighting ceremony was first televised in 1946, although the broadcast was limited and reached few homes. The two Oriental spruce trees were again found to be damaged by the decorations. Federal officials raised the suggestion that the trees be replaced with artificial trees, but this was actively opposed by the live Christmas tree industry and the idea was dropped. Television coverage expanded for the 1947 ceremony, with both NBC and the DuMont Television NetworkDuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
televising the event. Television coverage continued to expand in the following years. In 1948, the tree included many more white bulbs in addition to the traditional red and green ones, so that the tree would look better on TV. It was also topped by a star-shaped tree topper
Tree topper
A tree topper is a decorative star, angel, santa or other item which is placed on the crown of a Christmas tree. The most popular tree topper is the angel, followed by the star...
consisting of eight flashing bulbs. That year, for the first time since 1938, the "Singing Tree" returned.
From 1948 to 1951, President Truman spent Christmas at his home in Independence, Missouri
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
, and lit the National Community Christmas Tree by remote control. Declining public attendance after four years of the president's absence led organizers in January 1952 to plead for Truman's presence at the next ceremony. Truman agreed to stay at the White House for Christmas 1952, and personally lit the tree. Even though the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
was raging during Christmas 1950, 1951, and 1952, crowds were still permitted on the White House grounds. The lone exception was in 1950, when crowds were kept outside the fences due to renovations going on at the White House.
Development of the Pageant of Peace and Pathway of Peace
The annual lighting ceremony for the National Community Christmas Tree was growing quickly in the 1950s. In 1953, the New York Times reported that millions of Americans were watching the ceremony on television. There were also pressures to expand the event. For roughly 15 years, the ceremony had remained largely the same. A local choir would sing some carols and a military service band would play a selection of Christmas music for a half hour before the president emerged to speak briefly and light the tree. A member of the Boy Scouts of AmericaBoy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
and either the Girl Scouts of America
Girl Scouts of the USA
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...
or the Camp Fire Girls
Camp Fire USA
Camp Fire USA, originally Camp Fire Girls of America, is a nationwide American youth organization that began in 1910. The organization has been co-ed since 1975 and welcomes youth from pre-kindergarten through age 21. Camp Fire was the first nonsectarian, multicultural organization for girls in...
would greet the president on behalf of the people of the city of Washington. After the president returned to the White House, the band would play more music for a half hour, and then the public would be cleared from the area. In 1952, however, a group of Catholic Church sodalities
Sodality (Catholic Church)
A sodality, also known as a "union of prayer" or "confraternity", is an older designation for a lay ecclesial movement or organization in the Roman Catholic Church....
asked that a nativity scene be included in the ceremony. The request was repeated in 1953. There was also pressure to move the ceremony off the White House's South Lawn. In 1953, only 700 members of the public were allowed onto the White House grounds (while another 3,500 watched from outside the fence) due to security concerns.
1954 marked the beginning of the Pageant of Peace. The pageant was the brainchild of Edward M. Kirby, public relations counsel for the National Capitol Committee of the Washington Board of Trade
Greater Washington Board of Trade
The Greater Washington Board of Trade is a network of business and non-profit leaders in Washington, D.C.Since its creation in 1889, the Greater Washington Board of Trade has provided advocacy, research, and programs for the area's business community...
. Kirby had flown into the District of Columbia in early December 1953, and was disappointed that the city had none of the visual impact that other major metropolises did. On December 29, 1953, Kirby submitted a memo to the Board of Trade proposing a pageant of light, music, and art. The concept evolved into a three-week-long series of nightly performances and religious observances. The Board of Trade was also interested in the idea because of waning interest in the lighting ceremony. The pageant would, however, require that the Christmas tree be moved off the White House grounds and that the tree lighting ceremony be moved from Christmas Eve to earlier in December. President Dwight Eisenhower approved the plan on November 4.
The 1954 Pageant of Peace was held on December 17, 1954. The Ellipse became the site of the National Community Christmas Tree, and cut trees were used because Park Service officials felt that a living tree would interfere with the various cultural and recreational events on the Ellipse at other times of the year. The "pageant of peace" theme was intended to echo the words of the angels ("Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men") during the Annunciation to the shepherds
Annunciation to the shepherds
The Annunciation to the shepherds is an episode in the Nativity of Jesus described in the Bible in Luke 2, in which angels tell a group of shepherds about the birth of Jesus...
as found in the Authorized King James Version of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. Most of the goods and services which made the event possible were donated: Local architecht Leon Chatelain, Jr., designed the site; Michigan State College
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
provided the tree; the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
and Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
gave the transportation to get the tree to D.C.; Pepco supplied the Christmas lights and power; Hargrove Display Decorators provided the nativity scene; the peace symbols, plaques, and trees for the "Pathway of Peace" were given by 27 U.S. states and territories and 23 embassies; and the reindeer stalls, metal fencing, stage, and wooden walkways were provided by the National Park Service.
A half-hour concert by the Marine Band and the 80-voice Justin Lawrie Choir preceded the 5:00 P.M. ceremony. The Pageant of Peace included a life-size nativity scene with live animals, an outdoor stage which accommodated singing groups and tableau vivant
Tableau vivant
Tableau vivant is French for "living picture." The term describes a striking group of suitably costumed actors or artist's models, carefully posed and often theatrically lit. Throughout the duration of the display, the people shown do not speak or move...
, and a "Children's Corner" with live reindeer and a place for children to donate toys to less fortunate children overseas. Religious ceremonies and religious and secular entertainment both occurred nightly through January 6. More than 6,000 people performed or participated in the pageant, and 22 22 embassies took part. The National Community Christmas Tree was a 67 feet (20.4 m) tall balsam fir from northern Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
decorated in 2,100 red, blue, and gold lights and topped by a brilliant white star. South of the tree, a "Pathway of Peace" extended in a straight line from E Street NW to the middle of the Ellipse and the National Community Christmas Tree. Smaller Christmas trees decorated by U.S. states, U.S. territories, and foreign embassies stood on either side of the pathway. These smaller trees were adorned with multi-colored lights and various kind of ornaments, and wooden boardwalks were used to guide visitors along the path and to the various parts of the pageant (which took up much of the Ellipse). Man-made snow covered the grounds, courtesy of the American Ice Co. President Eisenhower lit the tree in front of 7,500 people at 5:25 P.M. Six Boy Scouts and Cub Scout
Cub Scout
A Cub Scout is a member of the section of the worldwide Scouting movement for young persons, mainly boys normally aged about 7 to 11. In some countries they are known by their original name of Wolf Cubs and are often referred to simply as Cubs. The movement is often referred to simply as Cubbing...
s from around the world (flown in with funds provided by UNICEF) joined the president on the dais. Movie actor Robert Montgomery
Robert Montgomery (actor)
Robert Montgomery was an American actor and director.- Early life :Montgomery was born Henry Montgomery, Jr. in Beacon, New York, then known as "Fishkill Landing", the son of Mary Weed and Henry Montgomery, Sr. His early childhood was one of privilege, since his father was president of the New...
, who served as Eisenhower's advisor on the president's television appearances, was also present. The ceremony was carried by all the major radio and television networks. The total cost of the event was set at $30,000 (about $253,000 in 2011 inflation-adjusted dollars), most of which was provided by payment in kind
Payment in kind
Payment in kind refers to payment for goods or services with a medium other than legal tender ....
(although the Board of Trade contributed $7,500 in cash).
The 1954 Pageant of Peace was a huge success. More than 6,000 people performed during the pageant. Up to 20,000 people a day visited the event. Between 300,000 and 500,000 people visited the Ellipse to see the exhibits and performances (with bumper-to-bumper traffic on nearby streets as people drove by to see the trees), and the pageant proved so popular that it was extended for two days.
National Christmas Tree since 1955
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
. President Eisenhower had suffered a serious heart attack on September 24, 1955, and was recuperating at his farm near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
, so the 1955 tree was lit remotely once more. More than 50 embassies took part in the Pathway of Peace. Attendance at the now two-week event soared to 540,000. A record 51 embassies participated in the 1956 Pageant of Peace, which included a {[convert|25|ft|m|adj=on}} high Christmas tree jointly donated by 11 Arab nations. In 1957, the Pageant of Peace culminated in a night of folk dancing at Lisner Auditorium
Lisner Auditorium
Lisner Auditorium is an auditorium, located on the campus of The George Washington University, at 730 21st Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C.. It is named for Abram Lisner, a trustee of the University who donated the money for its construction....
on the campus of George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
. Foreign embassies were not invited to participate in the 1958 Pathway to Peace, after festival organizers came to believe that they were imposing on the legations. But the embassies were invited to participate again in 1959, and did so. 1959 also saw festival organizers dye the grass green for the first time. When President Eisenhower lit the tree on December 23, a "Singing Christmas Tree
Singing Christmas Tree
A Singing Christmas Tree, sometimes called a Living Christmas Tree, is an artificial Christmas tree filled with singers used as part of nativity plays. First appearing in 1933 in Mississippi, they later made their debut indoors in 1958 in North Carolina...
" (a choir on an inclined grandstand holding candles, forming the triangular shape of a Christmas tree) formed a backdrop behind him.
President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
did not light the tree in December 1961, because his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.
Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.
Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Sr. was a prominent American businessman, investor, and government official....
, had suffered a major stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
, so Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
lit the tree. An electronic console nearby picked up musical sounds from performers on the stage, and altered the color and brightness of the tree's 3,000 multicolored lights. The three lighting occurred three days earlier than usual because President Kenneday had been scheduled to leave for Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
to meet with British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
. The Washington Post reported that embassies did not provide trees or symbols for the Pathway of Peace, instead participating in a music festival at Lisner Auditorium on December 26. Just 16 U.S. states provides tress for the Pathway of Peace. President Kennedy did light the 1962 tree (on December 17), although the changing lights used in 1961 were not used again. The number of Christmas trees on the Pathway of Peace now numbered 52, including all 50 states, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
The 1963 tree lighting ceremony was scheduled for December 18. But President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22. President Johnson declared an official 30-day period of national mourning, which delayed lighting of the National Christmas Tree until December 22. After a one-hour candle-lighting ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...
, President Johnson traveled to the Ellipse and lit the tree. That year, the General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
company began donating the lights for the tree, changing the lighting set every year. In addition to the life-size nativity scene, Yule log, stage, and live reindeer, the International Paper Company donated 80 cut, small Christmas trees which were decorated with white lights and erected in the shape of a "Cross of Peace" on the Ellipse. Although green dye had been used since 1959 to make the grass look green, no dye was used in 1963 due to the unusual snow which covered the grounds.
Small changes in the tree lighting scheme and pageant occurred throughout the 1960s. Instead of multi-colored lights, in 1964 the tree was lit with 5,000 red bulbs. It was decorated with 500 large gold ornaments, and instead of a star was topped with a white cross. But when British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
visited the United States in 1965 and witnessed the tree lighting ceremony, the tree once more featured multi-colored (blue, green, and white) lights. The 53 trees on the Pathway of Peace that year were lit with red and white bulbs. This was also the first year that the American Mining Congress, a coalition of coal industry mining companies, began providing the trees of the Pathway of Peace. In 1966, the 53 Christmas trees of the Pathway of Peace were alternatively lit in all green or all blue lights, and were arranged in an arc around the National Christmas Tree rather than lining the path to it. The following year, the National Christmas Tree was lit with blue lights and encircled with strings of red and white lights, and decorated with gold balls. The tree-topper that year was not a star but a 4 feet (1.2 m) tall gold spire with a base of golden stars. The trees on the Pathway to Peace, however, returned to multi-colored lights. For the first time in the history of the tree lighting ceremony, a non-American choir (the Festival Singers of Toronto
Festival Singers of Canada
The Festival Singers of Canada was a professional choir located in Toronto, Canada from 1954-1979. Founded in 1954 by Elmer Iseler as the Festival Singers of Toronto, the choir was heard first heard on CBC radio in a 1955 Good Friday broadcast of Bach's Christ lag in Todesbanden...
) performed at the opening event. The National Christmas Tree used a blue, white, and yellow lighting scheme in 1968. When President Johnson lit the tree, a tree in the newly-electrified village of Nulato, Alaska
Nulato, Alaska
Nulato is a city in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 336.-Geography:Nulato is located at ....
(one of 59 rural Eskimo villages to receive electricity for the first time that year). In 1969, the number of trees on the Pathway to Peace expanded to 57, to include all American unincorporated territories and the District of Columbia. The National Christmas Tree that year was decorated in bands of red and white lights, and was at the top of a huge capital letter "V" formed by the Pathway's 12 feet (3.7 m) tall Red Pine trees from eastern Ohio. The 1969 ceremony was interrupted by about 200 individuals protesting the Vietnam War, who repeatedly heckled the president during his short speech and who temporarily planted an 8 feet (2.4 m) tall "peace tree" a few yards from the National Christmas Tree. Eight adults and a youth were arrested during the event for disorderly conduct
Disorderly conduct
Disorderly conduct is a criminal charge in most jurisdictions in the United States. Typically, disorderly conduct makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to "disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain areas. Many types of unruly conduct may fit the definition of disorderly conduct, as such...
.
The 1970 National Christmas Tree suffered several near-disasters. The 78 feet (23.8 m) tall blue spruce from South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
's Black Hills
Black Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
was carried to Washington, D.C., on a train. The train derailed
Derailment
A derailment is an accident on a railway or tramway in which a rail vehicle, or part or all of a train, leaves the tracks on which it is travelling, with consequent damage and in many cases injury and/or death....
twice on its way to the city. The weekend before the tree lighting ceremony, the tree blew over in high winds and several cut branches had to be attached to the tree to replace damaged ones. A few days after the tree was lit, lightbulbs on the lower half of the tree began exploding after a fireproofing liquid applied to the sockets began causing shorts in the strings of lights. No anti-war protests occurred during the tree lighting ceremony in 1970, however. Women Strike for Peace
Women Strike for Peace
Women Strike for Peace is a United States women's peace activist group.-History:Women Strike for Peace was founded by Bella Abzug and Dagmar Wilson in 1961, and was initially part of the movement for a ban on nuclear testing and to end the Vietnam war, first demanding a negotiated settlement,...
temporarily won a court order permitting them to set up an anti-Vietnam War display of 11 lighted styrofoam tombstones listing the number of American war dead near the pageant, but this ruling was overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit known informally as the D.C. Circuit, is the federal appellate court for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Appeals from the D.C. Circuit, as with all the U.S. Courts of Appeals, are heard on a...
two days laer on December 18. (The anti-war display was set up on the Washington Monument
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
grounds instead.) The 1970 tree was lit by President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
and Andre Proctor, a local District of Columbia child whom President Nixon picked out of the crowd at the last moment to assist him with the tree-lighting. The 1970 Pageant of Peace also included a tree dedicated to prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
and soldiers missing in action
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
.
Vice President Spiro Agnew
Spiro Agnew
Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...
lit the 1971 National Christmas Tree. Protesters briefly interrupted the beginning of Agnew's speech, chanting for peace, before Agnew and seven-year-old Gary Morris (a child in the institutional care of the city) lit the tree. On December 15, Women Strike for Peace was granted permission by Judge Joseph Cornelius Waddy
Joseph Cornelius Waddy
Joseph Cornelius Waddy was a United States federal judge.Born in Louisa County, Virginia, Waddy received an A.B. from Lincoln University, Pennsylvania in 1935 and an LL.B. from Howard University School of Law in 1938. He was in private practice in Washington, D.C. from 1939 to 1962...
of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia is a federal district court. Appeals from the District are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a...
to place an anti-war display next to the National Christmas Tree, but they did not have time to erect a display before the lighting ceremony. The tree-topper that year resembled a white snowflake, while the tree itself was decorated with red and white bulbs in clusters amid a wider blanket of gold lights. There were 56 trees in Pageant of Peace, plus an extra tree for POW/MIAs. Vice President Agnew again lit the tree in 1972. Assisting the Vice President was Eric Watt, 10-year-old son of future Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
James G. Watt
James G. Watt
James Gaius Watt served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior for President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1983.-Early life and career:...
. More than 9,000 green bulbs, 1,000 clear bulbs, and 250 5 inches (12.7 cm) globe bulbs were used to decorate the tree. The U.S. Army supplied floodlights which also helped to illuminate the tree, which was kept lit 24 hours a day. There were 57 trees representing the 50 U.S. states and territories at the Pageant of Peace, with another 75 evergreen trees for deocration. The trees were again placed in in the shape of a giant "V" rather than two parallel rows. The American Mining Congress declined to supply the smaller trees in 1972, so the state of Pennsylvania agreed to do so. Former President Harry S. Truman died on December 26, 1972. All performances at the Pageant of Peace were cancelled on December 28 (the national day of mourning for Truman), although the tree remained lit for security reasons. Although there were no protests at the tree lighting ceremony, anti-war protests were held at the Pageant of Peace on December 25 and December 30.
Having used cut trees from around the country since 1954, the Christmas Pageant of Peace reintroduced a living tree in 1973. A spontaneous, grass-roots letter writing campaign by American citizens began pressing in 1965 for a live tree. The letter-writing campaign intensified in 1969. Prodded by environmentalists, a much larger letter-writing campaign ("more letters and phone calls of protest than in the previous 10 years" a Park Service spokesperson said) occurred in the two months prior to the 1972 tree lighting ceremony, which prompted the National Park Service to bow to public pressure and plant a live tree.
A 42-foot Colorado blue spruce
Blue Spruce
Picea pungens is a species of spruce native to western North America, from southeast Idaho and southwest Wyoming, south through Utah and Colorado to Arizona and New Mexico. It grows at high altitudes from altitude, though unlike Engelmann Spruce in the same area, it does not reach the alpine...
from the Sunset Lake Nursey near Shickshinny, Pennsylvania
Shickshinny, Pennsylvania
Shickshinny is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 959 at the 2000 census, and declined to 896 in the 2007 Economic Census....
, was donated by the National Arborist Association and planted in the Ellipse close to the Zero Milestone (just east of the central north-south axis of the White House). The tree arrived in the city via flatbed truck
Flatbed truck
A flatbed truck is a type of truck which can be either articulated or rigid. As the name suggests, it has an entirely flat, level 'bed' body with no sides or roof...
and was planted on October 11, 1973. The tree was badly damaged just before it was planted when it fell off the flatbed truck carrying it, an accident which had significant effects on the tree's lifespan. North of the tree, a bronze plaque was installed that read "National Christmas Tree, Transplanted October 11, 1973, Christmas Pageant of Peace Committee." Initially, the General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
company, which had been donating the lighting for the tree for years, developed a "cool lighting" system to help protect the tree from the heat damage caused by standard Christmas tree lights. But this scheme was subsequently abandoned due to the need to conserve energy
Energy conservation
Energy conservation refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased energy consumption and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources...
because of the 1973 oil crisis
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
. Instead, eight colored floodlights at the base of the tree were used to illuminate the National Christmas Tree's decorations and its 36 inches (91.4 cm) high gold snowflake tree-topper (although the snowflake itself was lit from within). The spotlights did not illuminate the tree directly for fear of causing heat damage; instead, the light was reflected on the tree. To further conserve energy, the National Christmas Tree was lit not 24 hours a day but only from 5 P.M. to 10 P.M.
Public pressure on the Park Service and the energy crisis also led to changes in the 1973 Pageant of Peace. The Park Service used no cut trees for the Pageant of Peace. Instead, it obtained 57 live trees and planted them on the Ellipse. After the Pageant of Peace ended, the living trees were replanted in D.C. area parks or donated to the states they were intended to represent. These trees were decorated, but had no Christmas lights due to the energy crisis. Only footlights illuminated the Pageant's trees, primarily for safety reasons. Upset by a court ruling that held that the Christian nativity scene could not be included in the Pageant of Peace, local resident Vaughn Barkdoll and a few friends formed the Christian Heritage Association and won a permit to display a nativity scene just beyond the service road encircling the Ellipse. The Barkdoll display included four sheep, a donkey
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
, and a Holstein calf. An American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
post from Hyattsville, Maryland
Hyattsville, Maryland
Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 17,557 at the 2000 census.- History :The city was named for its founder, Christopher Clark Hyatt. He purchased his first parcel of land in the area in March 1845...
, erected a similar but smaller display on the opposite side of the Ellipse.
Energy conserving lights were used on the National Christmas Tree in 1974, however. More than 2,000 tiny amber and white lights (which used just a third of the wattage of pre-1973 strings of lights), as well as braided gold-colored rope and large gold ornaments, were used. The Pageant of Peace continued to feature just 57 trees, but there was competition over the nativity scene (which was no longer part of the festival). Barkdoll's Christian Heritage Association provided a creche with 2 foot (0.6096 m) high plaster figures and no live animals. The Hyattsville American Legion provided a display with life-size papier-mâché
Papier-mâché
Papier-mâché , alternatively, paper-mache, is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, bound with an adhesive, such as glue, starch, or wallpaper paste....
figures and live animals including some sheep, a calf, and a burro
Burro
The burro is a small donkey used primarily as a pack animal. In addition, significant numbers of feral burros live in the Southwestern United States, where they are protected by law, and in Mexico...
. A third display was provided by the Christian Service Corps (a nondenominational Christian organization whose members mixed public service with missionary work). The Christian Service Corps display included live actors in period costumes, a musical soundtrack, three camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
s, a cow, a donkey, and 15 sheep.
In 1975, the National Christmas Tree had a Bicentennial
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic...
theme. The tree was decorated with 4,600 red, white, and blue lights; red, white, and blue ornaments, and silver garland; and topped by a 4 feet (1.2 m) high gold and green Liberty Bell
Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American Independence, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formerly placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House , the bell was commissioned from the London firm of Lester and Pack in 1752, and was cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY...
. The low-watt Christmas tree lights were specially designed by General Electric. In a circle around the National Christmas Tree were 13 tall evergreen trees, symbolizing the Thirteen Colonies
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
. An additional 47 smaller trees formed the Pathway to Peace, representing the rest of the states, U.S. territories, POW/MIAs, and senior citizens. The 12,000 total light bulbs and 2 miles (3.2 km) of electrical cord used 40 percent less wattage than the year before. Once more, three different organizations provided three different nativity scenes away from the pageant. With the Bicentennial year ending, the 1976 National Christmas Tree was decorated with 2,500 red lamps (rather than strings of tree lights), which represented the theme "Youth." That year's Pageant of Peace was also truncated, presenting live entertainment only through December 23. However, there were now 60 trees in the Pathway to Peace.
By December 1976, it was clear that the National Christmas Tree planted just three years earlier was dying. The appearance of the tree had deteriorated significantly, with many of the lower branches dead or damaged and many parts of the tree showing large areas of dead needles. Government horticulturalists said the tree had suffered root damage and had not thrived in the hot, damp climate of Washington, D.C. David Rhoads, a citizen from Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
, donated his 25 feet (7.6 m) tall blue spruce to the National Park Service, chopped off its branches and wired many of them to the lower part of the existing tree to cover up the damage. The tree's plight was so obvious that the public made 112 offers for a new living tree were received by the government by early December.
The 1974 tree was removed, and used for the Yule log in 1977. An anonymous resident of Potomac, Maryland
Potomac, Maryland
Potomac is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, named for the nearby Potomac River. The population was 44,822 at the 2000 census. The Potomac area is known for its very affluent and highly-educated residents. In 2009 CNNMoney.com listed Potomac as the fourth...
, donated a 34 feet (10.4 m) tall blue spruce as the new National Christmas tree. The new tree was planted on the Ellipse on November 3, 1977. President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, assisted by his daughter, Amy
Amy Carter
Amy Lynn Carter is the fourth child and only daughter of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. She entered the limelight as she lived as a child in the White House during the Carter presidency.-Early life:...
, lit the tree during a ceremony on December 15, 1977. The tree was decorated with 2,000 five-watt green lamps (not bulbs) symbolizing "Hope," as well as 500 "twinkle lamps" and white ornaments. Due to the ongoing energy crisis, the tree was only lit from dusk to midnight from December 15 to December 26, and from dusk to 10 P.M. from December 27 to January 2. This achieved a further 74 percent reduction in energy use. A petting zoo
Petting zoo
A petting zoo features a combination of domestic animals and some wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed. In addition to independent petting zoos, also called children's farms or petting farms, many general zoos contain a petting zoo...
was added to the Pagaent of Peace for the first time.
The 1977 living tree did not last, however. January 1978 brought several severe rain and snow storms to the Washington, D.C., region, along with heavy winds, heavy precipitation, and extremes in temperatures. On Januatry 26, 62 mile per hour winds whipped through the nation's capitol (and a tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
did damage to homes in nearby Quantico, Virginia
Quantico, Virginia
- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there are 561 people, 295 households, and 107 families living in the town. The population density is . There are 359 housing units at an average density of .-Racial composition:...
). Park Service officials feared the National Christmas Tree would be toppled, and attached guy-wire
Guy-wire
A guy-wire or guy-rope, also known as simply a guy, is a tensioned cable designed to add stability to structures . One end of the cable is attached to the structure, and the other is anchored to the ground at a distance from the structure's base...
s to the tree to keep it upright. But despite the additional bracing, the tree was nearly uprooted in mid-afternoon and leaned at a 45 degree angle for several hours until workers were able to get it upright again. A National Park Service spokesperson said that the agency feared the tree had suffered extensive root damage, and would not survive.
The National Park Service undertook a lengthy study to find a species of tree that could thrive in the climate and soil conditions of the capital and better withstand the annual decoration process. Agency officials traveled more than 2000 miles (3,218.7 km) to find a tree that met their specifications. A 30 feet (9.1 m) tall blue spruce, located at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William E. Myers of York, Pennsylvania
York, Pennsylvania
York, known as the White Rose City , is a city located in York County, Pennsylvania, United States which is in the South Central region of the state. The population within the city limits was 43,718 at the 2010 census, which was a 7.0% increase from the 2000 count of 40,862...
, was chosen as the new National Christmas Tree planted in the Ellipse in 1978. (The Myers offered to donate the tree, but were paid $1,500 for it.) A second tree, an 18 feet (5.5 m) tall blue spruce purchased from a nursery in New Jersey, was planted in a corner of the Ellipse in early summer 1978 for use as a spare in case the new transplanted tree did not survive. New, stronger cables were used to help brace the tree against high winds. The bronze plaque at the base of the tree was altered slightly to reflect the new date of the tree's transplanting (October 11, 1978).
The tree was topped off by First Daughter Amy Carter on December 5, 1978, a ceremony which began a new tradition of having a member of the President or Vice President's family top off the tree (a tradition observed every year since except in 1980). President Carter, assisted by his wife Rosalynn
Rosalynn Carter
Eleanor Rosalynn Carter is the wife of the former President of the United States Jimmy Carter and in that capacity served as the First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981. As First Lady and after, she has been a leading advocate for numerous causes, perhaps most prominently for mental...
and daughter Amy, lit the newly transplanted National Christmas Tree on December 15, 1978. The tree was illuminated by 1,600 low-watt gold lamps, floodlit with gold spotlights, and decorated with gold garland and 50 large red ornaments. Once more, each state and territory was represented by a tree on the Pathway of Peace, and the petting zoo and live reindeer both returned to the Pageant of Peace. Additionally, there was a small tree representing senior citizens, as well as a new "community tree."
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
sent his daughter Amy
Amy Carter
Amy Lynn Carter is the fourth child and only daughter of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. She entered the limelight as she lived as a child in the White House during the Carter presidency.-Early life:...
to light the tree on December 13, the switch lit only the top star on the big tree and only tiny blue lights illuminated the state trees on the Pathway of Peace. The President announced that the National Christmas Tree, a nationwide symbol, would remain dark until the American hostages in Iran
Iran hostage crisis
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian...
were set free. General Electric had designed a scheme of multiple lighting and visual effects and an all white tree to coordinate with the theme of "Joy and Light," celebrating the 100th anniversary of Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
's invention of the practical incandescent lamp
Incandescent light bulb
The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe makes light by heating a metal filament wire to a high temperature until it glows. The hot filament is protected from air by a glass bulb that is filled with inert gas or evacuated. In a halogen lamp, a chemical process...
. However, the tree remained unlit. In 1980, President Carter lit the National Christmas Tree for only 417 seconds, each second symbolizing one day of captivity of the Americans hostages in Iran. When the hostages were eventually released on January 20, 1981, the tree was hastily re-decorated in time for their return.
Due to security concerns after an assassination attempt
Reagan assassination attempt
The Reagan assassination attempt occurred on Monday, March 30, 1981, just 69 days into the presidency of Ronald Reagan. While leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by John Hinckley, Jr...
in March 1981, President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
never lit the National Christmas Tree standing on the Ellipse, but used a remote control from the White House South Portico. President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
resumed this tradition in 1989. A deep, brick-lined pit was dug southwest of the Pathway of Peace in 1994 and a massive bonfire, known as "Ye Olde Yule Log," added as a yearly tradition. A Christian nativity scene
Nativity scene
A nativity scene, manger scene, krippe, crèche, or crib, is a depiction of the birth of Jesus as described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke...
and live music were also added that year. In 1995, the National Christmas Tree was lit by solar energy
Solar power
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
for the first time. In 2007, LED
Light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...
Christmas lights
Christmas lights
Christmas lights are lights used for decoration around Christmas. The use of decorative, festive lighting during the Christmas holiday season is a long standing tradition in many Christian cultures, and has been adopted as a secular practice in a number of other non-Christian, or predominantly...
were used, and the tree topper
Tree topper
A tree topper is a decorative star, angel, santa or other item which is placed on the crown of a Christmas tree. The most popular tree topper is the angel, followed by the star...
was refurbished to use them also. That same year, the tree lighting ceremony was officially named the Lighting of the National Christmas Tree.
On Saturday, February 19, 2011, the National Christmas tree was felled after its trunk snapped in a windstorm which contained gusts of up to 50 mile per hour. National Park Service spokesman Bill Line noted the tree was at risk since it stood alone exposed to the elements and lacked the protection of other trees. Knowing the tree was at risk and would eventually need replaced, a successor tree had already been selected. The new tree was planted on March 19, 2011. The new tree is a 26.5 feet (8.1 m) tall Colorado blue spruce which was obtained from an unnamed tree nursery in New Jersey.
Location of the National Christmas Tree
The National Christmas Tree is a living evergreen tree planted in the Ellipse in the President's Park, close to the Zero Milestone but just east of the central north-south axis. In early 1974, a low stone wall was constructed around the National Christmas Tree to provide partial protection for its roots, and currently serves as the limit of the planting bed below the tree. In 2001, a cast iron fence was built around the tree about 30 feet (9.1 m) from the low stone wall to protect the soil from compaction by the thousands of people who visit the tree annually.A temporary gravel road is constructed in the northeast quadrant of the Ellipse each year to give workers access to the tree for decoration. A wooden snow fence
Snow fence
A snow fence is a structure, similar to a sand fence, that forces drifting snow to accumulate in a desired place. They are primarily employed to minimize the amount of snowdrift on roadways and railways. Farmers and ranchers may use temporary snow fences to create large drifts in basins for a...
is installed near the tree and around the Pageant of Peace area each year as well to protect the lawn during periods of high foot traffic.
According to the National Park Service, since the National Christmas Tree and its associated ceremonies go back to a historic period in the nation's history, this cultural event has not only become historically important itself but has helped to protect the historic integrity of the Ellipse. The agency says that the tree has become "a defining feature of President's Park South".
A "backup National Christmas Tree" is occasionally mentioned by many sources. This tree is located southwest of Ellipse Road, where the path from the 17th Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW meets the Ellipse sidewalk. This tree was planted by the National Park Service as a replacement for the National Christmas Tree. However, this tree is not historic, did not grow well, and by 2010 was not considered as a backup for the National Christmas Tree any longer. When cut trees were used, backup trees were also identified. In 1971, the National Park Service revealed that it required four trees to be selected as "the" National Christmas Tree. One would be the actual tree used; two would be replacement trees in case some accident befell the primary tree; and the four tree was cut up and its branches used to fill out bare spots in the primary tree.
Sources of National Christmas Trees
Cut evergreen trees were used in 1923, and from 1954 to 1972. Living trees were used from 1924 to 1953, and again from 1973 to the present (2011). The species, height, and sources of these trees has varied widely over time.Pageant of Peace and Pathway of Peace
As of 2010, 56 smaller cut evergreen trees representing the states, District of Columbia, and unincorporated territories of the United States are arranged in a large oval around the National Christmas Tree each December. A sign in front of each tree identifies which geographic area the small tree represents. A temporary black plastic walkway is laid down to provide pedestrian access (the actual "Pathway of Peace"), and the trees guarded by a white vinyl picket fence.A stage and a blue plywood amphitheater are erected southeast of the National Christmas Tree, and the placement of heavy plastic mats and metal folding chairs in front of the stage (with seating for only 200 people at most) creates an audience area for performances. A plywood nativity scene, 15 by Yule log fire pit, and barn for donkeys, reinder, and sheep built south of the Pathway of Peace. Speakers on high stands throughout the area broadcast the live performances, or provide recorded music for viewers' enjoyment. Since the Pageant of Peace and Pathway of Peace are traditions extending back only to 1954, they are not considered historic elements by the National Park Service.
Legal issues
Several times, the Pageant of Peace has been the subject of legal dispute.The first legal challenge occurred in 1968 when the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
(ACLU) objected to the inclusion of the Christian navtivity scene in the pageant. The ACLU argued the display violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
. Although the National Park Service responded that the nativity scene was not religious per se but a symbol "of the national holiday", the agency did agree not to store, maintain, or erect the display (turning those duties over to Pageant of Peace, Inc., in September 1968). The legal effort to remove the creche continued the following year. In 1969, three clergymen, an atheist, and a member of the Ethical Society sued to have the nativity scene removed. Once more, the Park Service said the nativity scene was merely a symbol "our spiritual heritage" and "wholly secular". The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied on December 12, 1969, a request for a temporary injunction barring construction of the display. The court's ruling said it would decide the case on its merits at a later date. The five plaintiffs were represented by the ACLU, and joined by the American Jewish Congress
American Jewish Congress
The American Jewish Congress describes itself as an association of Jewish Americans organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts....
.
In April 1970, the court of appeals ordered a full trial on the issue. Although the trial was set for February 1, 1971, the plaintiffs and ACLU declined to seek a temporary injunction against the display in December 1970 in favor of a permanent resolution of the issue. On November 3, 1971, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in Allen v. Morton, 333 F.Supp. 1088, (D.D.C. 1971), that inclusion of the nativity display did not violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. The court said that the purpose of the event was purely secular (to increase tourism and shopping in the city), and that was determinative. But on September 26, 1973, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned the district court's ruling. The appellate court held that the commercial nature of the event did not mean that the creche lost its religious meaning, and that the government's involvement in displaying the creche was not the absolute minimum necessary to meet the Supreme Court's constitutional tests. The appellate court did not explicity bar the government from allowing the nativity display, but laid out very specific rules under which the government's participation could occur.
In 1978, another lawsuit over the Pageant of Peace was filed. The government had banned all groups not associated with the Pageant of Peace from the Ellipse (even though it only used a one-fourth of the Ellipse's total area for the pageant), but permitted them to use lightly wooded areas nearby. The government argued that it had to avoid any appearance of government sponsorship of any religion and to be even-handed with all groups. The Christian Service Corps sued, arguing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on December 16, 1978, that it was unreasonable to keep all groups off the Ellipse during this time. On December 20, the court ruled that the Park Service's rules did not violate Christian Service Corps' constitutional rights.
See also
- General Grant treeGeneral Grant treeThe General Grant tree is the largest giant sequoia in the General Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park in California and the second largest tree in the world.-History:...
, also proclaimed the "Nation's Christmas Tree" - Capitol Christmas TreeCapitol Christmas TreeThe Capitol Christmas Tree is the decorated tree that is erected annually on the West Front Lawn of the United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the Christmas holiday season...
- California Capitol Christmas TreeCalifornia Capitol Christmas TreeThe California Capitol Christmas Tree , formerly California Capitol Holiday Tree , is an annually erected decorated tree in Sacramento, California, United States...
External links
- Lighting of the National Christmas Tree, official website presented by the National Park FoundationNational Park FoundationChartered by Congress, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s nearly 400 national parks. Funds contributed to the Foundation are invested directly into the national parks...
and the National Park ServiceNational Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations... - History of the National Christmas Trees and various related webpages at the National Park ServiceNational Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
(NPS) website, by Laura Schiavo and other NPS staff, U.S. Department of the InteriorUnited States Department of the InteriorThe United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...