President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses on Thursday attended the 99th annual National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on the Ellipse park at the White House, joining a star-studded list of performers and members of the public for a ceremony that sought to highlight unity, hope, and optimism ahead of the holiday season--even amid the ongoing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, the first since President Biden took office, was hosted by LL Cool J, and featured performances by Billy Porter, Kristin Chenoweth, Chris Stapleton, Maren Morris, Patti LaBelle, and the Howard University Gospel Choir.
President Biden and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, also delivered remarks during the event.
“In 1923, a letter from students to the White House inspired the first tree lighting,” Haaland said.
“Today, hundreds of students—including, for the first time, students from the Department of Defense’s education activity, and Bureau of Indian Education schools— share their creativity through the ornaments that adorn the trees around us.”
“It's a beautiful reminder that public lands are places that bring us together,” she added.
Biden, for his part, used his remarks to impart a message of unity and tradition—noting that, for the past 99 years, “presidents have continued this great American tradition of lighting the National Christmas Tree through war and peace, struggle and progress.”
“You know, the evergreen tree reminds us that even in the coldest, darkest days of winter, that life and abundance will return,” Biden said, accompanied onstage by First Lady Jill Biden. “It's a bright beacon of hope that reminds us of the promise we find in scripture of finding light in darkness, which is also a very American thing to do.”
Biden’s remarks, and the ceremony itself, provided a glimpse into the administration’s pared-down holiday plans amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of the new omicron variant, which as of Thursday had been detected in four U.S. states.
Each attendee at the outdoor ceremony was required to wear a mask for the duration of the event, including performers and speakers, who only removed them when they took the stage. At one point during the proceeding, host LL Cool J made a joke about social distancing.
Biden also used his remarks to remember the lives lost to COVID-19. “We also we also keep in our hearts, those who lost loved ones because of this virus or any other cruel twist of fate or accident,” he said. “We pray for them to find strength from sorrow, purpose from pain.”
“And as we look out across the country, with the promise of a new year ahead, we know this,” he continued. “We are a great nation because of you, the American people.”
Both the president and first lady "lit" the national christmas tree; revealing a massive evergreen tree adorned in red and white lights. Per tradition, it was flanked by smaller trees to represent U.S. states and territories, including D.C.
The tree lighting ceremony comes just days after the White House unveiled its holiday decorations on Monday, made to accompany this year's holiday theme of “Gifts from the Heart,” selected by the first lady.
It also comes one day after Biden and Harris hosted the first White House Hanukkah celebration on Wednesday, where second gentleman Doug Emhoff, the first-ever Jewish spouse of a vice president, joined in lighting the menorah.