The White House Just Unveiled Its Annual Christmas Tree—and It's Full of Nostalgic Holiday Magic
The White House’s halls have been decked for the 2023 Christmas season, and its shining star, the official White House Christmas Tree, is sure to remind those who see it of the childhood joy of the season.
The 18½-foot Fraser Fir stands floor to ceiling in the oval-shaped Blue Room. The tree was decorated on this year’s White House holiday theme of “Magic, Wonder, and Joy” to encourage embracing “your inner child and delight in simply being present with those you love,” the President and First Lady wrote in a welcome letter at the beginning of the commemorative 2023 White House Holiday Guide.
Amidst white string lights and colorful ornaments, tags with the name of each state, territory, and the District of Columbia are hung on the tree with red ribbon. Nestled around them are scenes of neighborhoods and cityscapes backlit with white light.
A replica of a vintage passenger train on loan from the Train Collectors Association weaves through a colorful wonderland of tree-lined landscapes at the base, and a large classic red ribbon adorns the top of tree.
This year’s tree was delivered from Fleetwood, North Carolina, as the winner of an annual National Christmas Tree Association competition for the coveted spot. Like every year, the Blue Room’s chandelier was removed to make room for the tree’s full height.
As you can see throughout the White House, its holiday theme is inspired by how children experience the season, “completely present in the beauty and bounty around them, their senses alight, with hearts open to the magic, wonder, and joy of the holidays,” the President and First Lady wrote.
Also of note this year, a portrait of former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who passed away this month at the age of 96, was moved amongst the Christmas decor in the White House and is draped in black bunting.
The first Christmas tree you see inside the White House is decorated with gold star ornaments, each engraved with the names of fallen service members. Elsewhere you can find different editions of the 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to mark the 200th anniversary of its publication, and this year’s Gingerbread White House features a recreation of the tale with a sugar cookie replica of the book and Santa’s sleigh flying above the house itself.
Each year more than 300 volunteers from all over the country dedicate a week to help decorate the White House’s interiors and exteriors for Christmas, and this year Dr. Biden invited National Guard families to be the first members of the public to see the décor. Around 100,000 people are expected to visit by the end of the season to take in 98 Christmas trees throughout the White House complex—and 14,975 feet of ribbon, over 350 candles, over 33,892 ornaments, and over 22,100 bells throughout its rooms and hallways.
The first known White House Christmas tree was decorated in 1889 with candles for then-President Benjamin Harrison’s grandchildren, and the Robert, Helen, and Charles Taft were the first to place a tree in the Blue Room in 1912 as a surprise for their cousins who were guests at the house that year. The first year it had a theme was the “Nutcracker Suite” ballet as selected by Jacqueline Kennedy, and the tradition has continued ever since.
Find more information on the White House holiday décor, visit whitehouse.gov/holidays.
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