The Obama's 2009 Christmas Tree

In 2008, then President-elect Obama and his family spent Christmas in Hawaii along ways from the cold and snow of their hometown Chicago and their new home in the White House.  This year, the Obama’s will continue the long standing tradition of an official White House Christmas Tree placed in the Blue Room and decorated with ornaments based on a motif selected by the First Lady Michelle Obama.  The tradition of the First Lady decorating the official White House Christmas Tree began with First Lady Lou Henry Hoover in 1929.  In 1961, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy started the tradition of an annual decorating motif when, in that year, she chose to use ornaments based on the ballet The Nutcracker. 

This year’s official White House Christmas Tree is a twenty-foot Fraser fir grown by Eric and Gloria Sundback, tree farmers in Sheperdstowne, West Virginia.  The Sundback’s earned this privilege by being the grand champions of the National Christmas Tree contest.  The Sundback’s have provided the official White House Christmas Tree on three previous occasions, twice during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan and once when Jimmy Carter was the President.

The precise origin of the official White House Christmas Tree is lost in history.  Some historians claim that President Franklin Pierce started the tradition in 1856.  Others say that the first official White House Christmas Tree was placed in the White House in 1889 during the Presidency of Benjamin Harrison.  From that point until 1961, there were official White House Christmas Trees almost every year with a few exceptions.  One of the notable exceptions was during the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt.  According to some, he refused to have White House Christmas Trees because of his strong conservationist philosophy.  One story, however, asserts that one year, the White House did not have a Christmas tree because President Roosevelt forgot to order one in a timely fashion.

Occasionally over the years, there have been some minor controversies regarding the decoration of the official White House Christmas Tree.  This year rumors have been circulated on the internet that the Obama’s will refer to the White House Christmas Tree as a “holiday tree” instead of as a “Christmas tree”.  The Internet rumor further asserts that the Obama’s will exclude from approved ornaments any ornament with a religious theme.  According to Snopes , these rumors are false.   According to Kate Bedinfield, a White House spokeswoman, “There is no truth to this, and the letter referenced in the e-mail does not exist. No letter has gone out yet from the White House pertaining to Christmas tree ornaments. The trees in the White House will be called Christmas trees, and the tree on the Ellipse will be called the National Christmas Tree. There will be no name changes.”