Washington, D.C.’s celebration of the holiday season begins on Friday, Dec. 6, with the lighting of the National Christmas Tree in The Ellipse just south of the White House. The ceremony will be presided over by President Obama and feature musical performances by Arturo Sandoval, Janelle Monae, Prince Royce and Train.
{mosads}Though not as iconic as New York’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, D.C.’s own National Christmas Tree is no less impressive. The National Christmas Tree predates its Manhattan counterpart and is largely responsible for popularizing lighted Christmas trees and ensuring they would be a staple of American living rooms throughout the country during the holiday season.
The tree has been a proud D.C. tradition since 1923, when Calvin Coolidge became the first president to preside over the lighting ceremony. True to his legendarily quiet nature, he did so silently — it wasn’t until Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration that the president began to give official remarks at the ceremony.
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