The National Park Service and National Park Foundation held the 102nd annual National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the Ellipse south of the White House at President’s Park on Dec. 5.
Hosted by American country music artist Mickey Guyton, the ceremony featured performers such as Airmen of Note, Max Impact, Stephen Sanchez and Trisha Yearwood, plus a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus.
President Joe Biden addressed the crowd, sharing the meaning of the White House’s 2024 Christmas theme, ‘A Season of Peace and Light.’ The former represents “the peace we feel as we pause and reflect on our blessing,” and the latter is for “the light we see as we gather with loved ones and cherish our time together,” the President said.
“A phrase in [‘O Holy Night’] is ‘his law is love, his gospel is peace,’” President Biden told attendees. “My wish for you and for the nation, now and always, is we continue to seek the light of liberty and love, kindness and compassion, dignity and decency.”
President and CEO of the National Park Foundation Will Shafroth also spoke to the crowd, highlighting the foundation’s successes in protecting and procuring funding for the national parks and emphasizing their importance to the children of the United States.
“This, in the end, may be our greatest legacy of all, the hearts and minds and spirits of our young people that we open to the awe and wonder of our natural world and to our shared history and their duty to protect it,” Shafroth said to the crowd. “Thank you for protecting these places, our common inheritance so that our children and every American can see them and cherish them for generations to come.”
Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff were among the crowd. First Lady Jill Biden, however, was not in attendance, as she was away on a visit to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Sicily to promote women’s health research, according to the President.
The tree, a 35-foot red spruce from Virginia’s George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, is open to the public beginning Dec. 7 through Jan. 1 from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The tree’s lights shine daily, starting at sunset until the park closes. CBS will broadcast the ceremony on Dec. 20 at 8 p.m.
This article was edited by Mackenzie Konjoyan, Tyler Davis and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Ella Rousseau and Sabine Kanter-Huchting.
