The Blue Room Christmas Tree will be presented to the White House on November 26, 2007.

This tree is lit each year at the start of the annual “Christmas Pageant of Peace” ceremonies. The live tree, which is a 40-foot Colorado blue spruce, was transplanted from York, Pennsylvania, and planted on the ellipse in 1978. Click here for more information on the National Christmas Tree.

Tree Trivia:

• The first live tree was planted on this site in 1973. However, it blew over in a storm and its replacement succumbed to transplant shock after a few years.
• The origin of the National Christmas Tree dates back to 1913 during the reign of President Woodrow Wilson, but the celebration was not resurrected for 10 more years until 1923, when First Lady Grace Coolidge gave permission to erect a tree on the Ellipse.

The National Christmas Tree Tree will be lit on December 6, 2007.

The Capitol Holiday Tree has been harvested from one of the country’s national forests each year since 1969 and is displayed on the west lawn o the U.S. Capitol grounds. Click here for more information on the Capitol Holiday Tree.

Tree Trivia:

• The first tree was a live 24-foot Douglas fir that was purchased for $700 from Buddies Nurseries of Birdsboro, Pennsylvania.
• The tallest Capitol Holiday Tree was 75 feet. It came from Manti-LaSal National Forest in Utah and was placed on the grounds in 1996.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree tradition began in 1933, when a tree was adorned with 700 lights and placed in front of the RCA building. Over the years, the annual lighting ceremony has become a television special viewed from coast to coast. Click here for more information on the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.

Tree Trivia:

• The first tree from outside the United States was erected in 1966. Canada gave it to Rockefeller Center in honor of the centennial of its confederation.
• Desired dimensions are a minimum of 65 feet tall and 35 feet wide, but trees 75 to 90 feet tall are preferred.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree will be lit on Nov. 28, 2007.

The 2005 holiday season at the Disneyland Resort will be a whole lot brighter this year as the traditional Christmas tree in Town Square on Main Street, U.S.A. goes gold in honor of Disneyland's 50th Anniversary celebration (continuing daily through 2006). Glittering in gilded splendor the traditional live tree has received the "Midas Touch" with a golden theme to commemorate Disneyland's half-century milestone. Click here to learn more about the Disney Christmas Tree.

Tree Trivia:

• The tree is 60 feet tall and decorated with 5,000 golden ornaments and 5,000 holiday lights.
• The tree was harvested from the Mount Shasta region of Northern California, near the city of Redding. The tree is a White Fir, which is also known as a Shasta Fir.
• The Disneyland tradition of a giant Christmas tree towering over Main Street, U.S.A. began in 1956. Disneyland is the last Disney park in the world to still utilize a real live tree as its holiday centerpiece in Town Square.

Wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery

Each December, members of the armed forces, civil air patrol, veterans and volunteer citizens have gathered to lay more than 5,000 wreaths on gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery. The project, which first began in 1992, was the idea of Merrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington, Maine. That year, Worcester had a wreath surplus and thought back to his youth. At age 12, he’d won a trip to Washington, D.C., and Arlington National Cemetery was one of the most memorable places he visited. His first thought was to bring the extra 4,000 wreaths there. Since then, he’s driven to Arlington every year with volunteers and a truck full of decorations. Click here for the complete story.