Everyone has their Christmas traditions, from decorating the house with lights to singing Christmas carols around a piano. Even one of the most renowned homes, the White House, has great traditions of their own.
Being one of the most popular American holidays, Christmas wasn’t always what it is now. Most people know Christmas as being the celebration of Christ’s birth, and throughout much of history, it was celebrated in winter festivals. These festivals included parties, small gift giving, and the celebration of the winter solstice.
Fast forwarding to colonial times, Christmas was a rare household occasion as many Puritans from England did not celebrate the holiday because it was not stated in the Bible. After the revolutionary war, many people tried to break from old English traditions causing more people to not celebrate Christmas. Christmas was so irrelevant that the first session of Congress under the new U.S. Constitution was on December 25, 1789.
It all began to change in the 1800s. Christmas became an official holiday in 1870, after much commercialization of Saint Nicholas and eventually, Santa Claus. In the early nineteenth century, the White House was decorated pretty moderately consisting of greens, garland, wreaths, and candles. The very first official White House Christmas party was held during John Adam’s term for their granddaughter, Susanna.
Children living in the White House has only added to the Christmas cheer throughout the years. Many former Presidents who have decorated and thrown parties in the astonishing interior of the White House have usually had children. President Jackson famously threw one of the most embellished Christmas parties for the children of his family that even included an indoor snowball fight- the snow was made of cotton. President Theodore Roosevelt and his wife through a Christmas carnival for five-hundred children that included Santa shaped ice cream, dancing and souvenirs.
There have also been some rebellious children when it comes to Christmas at the White House. President Theodore Roosevelt was a firm believer in conservation and refused to cut down any trees to put into the White House. His son, Archie, had a different idea and kept a very small tree in a closet ion a sewing room to look at. Although the first president to place a Christmas tree in the White House was Benjamin Harrison, the Taft children created the tradition of placing the tree in the Blue Room in 1912. While their parents were out of town, they decided to place a Christmas tree to surprise their visiting relatives that holiday.
Throughout much of the years in the 20th century, the celebration and decoration of the Christmas trees have been contingent upon the presence of children and grandchildren.
One of the most elegant traditions in the White House during Christmas time has been the decorating of the Christmas tree. This tradition was established by first lady Lou Henry Hoover in 1929, and thanks to the Taft children, displayed in the elegant Blue Room.
First lady Jacqueline Kennedy elaborated on the idea and started the tradition of selecting a theme each year. In 1961, the first official theme for a White House Christmas was the ‘Nutcracker.” Throughout the years, America has seen various themes including traditional America, American Flower Tree, antique toys, Mother Goose, family literacy, gift-givers, home for the holidays, red, white and blue, simple gifts, Holiday in the national parks and many other unique themes.
The first ladies have also utilized the tree decorating to bring light to issues in society and involve as many people as they can in the decoration of the grand tree. First lady Jacky Kennedy featured crafts made by disabled and senior citizen craftspeople. The great American Flower Tree, by first lady Nixon, featured velvet and satin flowers made by disabled workers. First lady Reagan organized to have people from a drug treatment program to help her decorate the tree. First lady Laura Bush had artists from all 50 states create replica homes to be placed on the tree. First lady Michelle Obama had children of deployed military members come and decorate ornaments for their parents.
Christmas trees ever since have been an important part of the White House holiday season. It is not unlikely to see well over twenty Christmas trees making their appearance a year, gleaming tall and proud as they proudly stand in the heart of Christmas. Ever since 1966, the National Christmas Tree Association has held a competition for tree farmers to provide the prize tree to be decorated and presented in the Blue Room of the White House. Coming in first, since 1961, is North Carolina with twelve trees being displayed, and in a close second, Pennsylvania with eleven, Wisconsin comes in third with eight trees.
A White House Christmas has become a magical holiday for anyone of any age. The prestige, amusement and inclusiveness of the first family and their festivities only adds to overall cheeriness of this holiday season.