While this national treasure may have been “sleighed” by 45+ MPH winds earlier this week, have no fear, the National Park Service (NPS) is here and leapt into action. They had the tree back in place no more than an hour after it fell.
“After assessing the tree’s condition and replacing a snapped cable, the tree is now upright as of 6 p.m.,” a NPS spokesperson said in a statement to the Washington Post.
The 40-foot Norway spruce from Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia, which is located on the Ellipse of the White House, replaced an earlier tree that had been planted and then removed after developing needle cast, a fungal disease that causes needles to turn brown and fall off. After abandoning the initial tree, the NPS collaborated with the USDA Forest Service to find the Norway spruce, marking the first time these two venerable institutions have partnered to bring a tree to the Ellipse.
Before 1973, the National Park Service used cut trees as National Christmas trees. The NPS and event partners said they will evaluate whether to continue using a cut tree or to plant a new tree in the future for our National Christmas tree.
The official ceremony and tree lighting countdown for the National Christmas tree is still set to take place on November 30. The event will be hosted by Mickey Guyton with performances by the United States Coast Guard’s Guardians Big Band, Darren Criss, Samara Joy, Ledisi, Reneé Rapp, St. Vincent, Joe Walsh, and Dionne Warwick.
President Joseph Biden and the First Lady Jill Biden will do the honors of lighting the tree this year, which has been the custom since the first tree went up in 1923. That year, President Calvin Coolidge pressed a button at the foot of the tree, which lit the adorning lights and electric candles.
The official U.S. Capitol building Christmas tree was lit earlier this week. First Lady Jill Biden introduced the big White House seasonal and holiday decorations theme earlier this week as well, which is the “Magic, Wonder and Joy” of the Holidays.
