Ever since President Calvin Coolidge started the tradition in 1923, the holiday season in the Metro-D.C. area gets its unofficial start with the lighting of the National Christmas Tree.
Wednesday night will see President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and other members of the first family continue the tradition with the 96th annual National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in President’s Park. A number of performers will be on hand to perform classic holiday songs, including the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own.” For those who weren’t able to snag a ticket, the ceremony will be broadcast on Ovation and REELZ on Sunday, Dec. 2, at 10 p.m. You can also find out about the National Christmas Tree on social media via its Twitter feed, @TheNationalTree.
The National Christmas Tree this year is a living Colorado blue spruce from Virginia that will be decorated by GE Lighting. In addition, 56 smaller trees will surround the National Christmas Tree representing each state, territory and D.C. High schools across the country created one-of-a-kind ornaments to adorn their state tree; the Governor’s School for the Arts created Virginia’s.
Following Wednesday’s initial lighting, the National Christmas Tree will be lit up every day at 4:30 p.m. and is free to visit.
Throughout the three weeks that the tree is up, musical performances from local D.C. groups and across the country will perform holiday classics. The complete music schedule will be announced soon.
To get to the National Christmas Tree, President’s Park is located between 17th Street NW and 15th Street NW and E Street NW and Constitution Avenue. Nearby Metro stations include Farragut West, McPherson Square and Metro Center.
The National Christmas Tree, and the Pathway of Peace featuring the 56 state trees, will be up from now until Jan. 1.
