It’s the 96th straight year for the presidential traditio
Mrs Trump hit the switch to light the tree after her husband did a countdown from 10, urging audience members to join in.
Trump declared: “Merry Christmas, everybody. We just have to say it all together: Merry, merry Christmas.” The first lighting took place on Christmas Eve in 1923, when President Calvin Coolidge lit a Christmas tree in front of 3,000 spectators. The National Christmas Tree is a living Colorado blue spruce. It is surrounded by 56 smaller trees featuring ornaments from every state and territory and the District of Columbia.
