First lady Jill Biden continued the White House’s full embrace of the holiday season on Monday, welcoming this year’s Christmas tree with military families.
This came just hours after President Joe Biden – who celebrated his 81st birthday Monday – published a presidential pardon of “Liberty” and “Bell” fulfilling the annual holiday tradition and saving the two Minnesota turkeys from the Thanksgiving table.
The first lady emerged from the White House Monday afternoon, followed by more than a dozen children from military families as a military band filled the aisle with Christmas carols. Biden led the children to the still-tied tree, displayed in a green wagon with red accents attached to two festively decorated Clydesdale horses.
“So sweet,” Dr. Biden exclaimed as he stroked one of the horses and called the children to do the same.
This year’s tree, an 18 1/2-foot Fraser fir, hails from Fleetwood, North Carolina, and was described as “magnificent” by the first lady during brief off-the-cuff remarks to reporters.
“Some children said they had never seen a tree this big,” added the first lady.
As is tradition, the chandelier in the White House Blue Room will be removed to accommodate the floor-to-ceiling Fraser Fir.
Siblings Amber Scott and Alex Church of Cline Church Nursery – who were awarded the title of 2023 Grand Champion Grower at the National Christmas Tree Association’s annual competition – officially presented the tree to Dr. Biden. The church said Spectrum News in a previous interview the crèche is a family business, created in 1975 when his parents got married.
Since 1966, the National Christmas Tree Association has held a competition for the coveted White House spot in the Blue Room. The previous two trees, also both 18.5 feet tall, came from Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Former President William Howard Taft’s family was the first to install the quintessential holiday symbol in the Blue Room in 1912.
Families who joined Biden for Monday’s festivities included members of the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force Reserves, U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Space Force as part of the first lady’s unification of forces initiative. This effort – first introduced by Michelle Obama, then Second Lady Biden, aims to support military and veteran families, caregivers and survivors.
On Sunday, the first lady and the president celebrated Thanksgiving by serving a holiday meal to military families at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.
Rose Eiklor of Spectrum News contributed to this report