US EditionMelania Trump lights the National Christmas Tree after president counts down
The 103rd annual ceremony featured a 35-foot red spruce with 80,000 LED lights and performances by The Beach Boys and other artists, honoring National Guard members.
- On Dec. 4, 2025, First lady Melania Trump lit the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse after President Donald Trump counted down from five and said `The first lady is going to do the honours`.
- The tradition dates to 1923 when President Calvin Coolidge first lit the National Christmas Tree, and this year's tree was chosen by a ranger district in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, according to the National Park Service.
- The display features more than 80,000 LED lights and dozens of smaller trees donated by a North Carolina tree farm, hung with ornaments made by schoolchildren including a Florida beach scene, an Alaska moose, and an Indiana race car.
- President Donald Trump honored two National Guard members shot last week, one fatally, and said he met the parents of Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who is recovering in hospital.
- The grounds open to the public on Saturday, Dec. 6 and remain on display through Jan. 1, tickets for the in-person ceremony were sold out, and the lighting airs on the Great American Family network Dec. 5 at 8 p.m.
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30 Articles
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It was just over a hundred years ago when the first “National Christmas Tree” was erected and lit on the White House lawn. The 48-foot Balsam fir was a gift of Vermont’s Middlebury College, a school from the new president’s home state. Coolidge had unexpectedly become the nation’s chief executive four months earlier following the death of Warren G. Harding. There’s no transcript of any remarks from President Coolidge that Christmas Eve, but we k…
Trump appears to reference his notes as he counts down from five to one: Watch
Donald Trump appeared to reference his notes as he counted down from five to one at the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Thursday evening (4 December). The US president counted down to the moment the 35-foot red spruce, sourced from the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest in Virginia, was lit by First Lady Melania Trump. Mr Trump then told the crowd: “Thank you, Melania, and it's a beautiful job they …
First Lady Melania Trump lit the national Christmas tree in the US capital on Thursday evening.
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