WASHINGTON- The lights shined bright Thursday evening as the first family, Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon and the United States Coast Guard band kicked off the holiday season by lighting the National Christmas Tree.
This White House tradition began in 1923 with President Calvin Coolidge and his family leading the crowd in a countdown.
Invited guests, chosen from a lottery conducted by the National Park Service in October, filled the Ellipse at the President’s Park behind the White House to witness the annual event.
The tree, a Colorado spruce from Virginia, has been at the Ellipse since 2012. It is maintained year-round by the National Park Service. For the 53rd year, GE Lighting decorated the tree.
Fall Out Boy, Andra Day, Tori Kelly, Miss Piggy and other performers joined the first family in the festivities.
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