Tree-mendous Holidays at the White House
Twinkling lights, bright tinsel, the familiar scent of pine…some (or all) of these may be hallmarks of your own family’s Christmas tree if that’s how you celebrate. They are also indispensable parts of a tradition beloved by many at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for many decades: the White House Christmas Tree Lighting. Let’s kick off this holiday season with a look back at Christmas Tree Lightings at the White House and their history as told through the holdings of the National Archives.
Christmas trees were not particularly popular in the United States until the turn of the 20th century. Before then, it was mostly immigrants of German descent who decorated trees in their homes during the holidays. After a popular newspaper featured England’s Queen Victoria and her family around a decorated pine tree in 1848, the tradition became more commonplace.
When President Benjamin Harrison entered office in 1889, he brought the first decorated tree inside the White House. At this time, trees were often adorned with ribbons, pine cones, bows, and dried flowers.
It was not until President Calvin Coolidge entered office that the ceremony of lighting a “national” Christmas tree outside the White House became a formal event. In 1923, Coolidge lit a nearly 50-foot-tall balsam in the center of the Ellipse, located south of the White House.
Although Coolidge originally held the ceremony on the Ellipse, the location of the event changed places a few times. Herbert Hoover, for example, moved the ceremony to Sherman Square, a different spot near the White House.
If you read last week’s Archives Experience, which detailed the tumultuous 24 hours following the attack on Pearl Harbor, you’ll know that the attack and the decision for the U.S. to enter World War II loomed large during the 1941 holiday season. For this reason, Roosevelt wanted his lighting ceremony that year to be—in his words—“more homey.” British Prime Minister Winston Churchill joined the ceremony, welcoming the crowds of patriotic Americans in an address that evening. “Let the children have their night of fun,” he urged, “...before we turn again to the stern tasks in the year that lies before us.” The tree lighting ceremony did not resume until 1945 due to wartime constraints.
President John F. Kennedy also faced difficult global circumstances ahead of the holidays in 1962, holding the tree lighting ceremony mere weeks after the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The address, therefore, carried special weight as he remarked, "it has been a year when peril was faced and when reason ruled." You can listen to a full recording of President Kennedy’s remarks online.
Many other modern Presidents enjoyed festive White House Christmas Tree Lightings, complete with musical performances, White House pets, Girl and Boy Scouts, and more. Enjoy these photo highlights from over the years, and from all of us at the National Archives Foundation, happy holidays!
