Topline
It’s out with the Thanksgiving turkey and in with the Christmas season as First Lady Jill Biden on Monday unveiled the 142,000 lights, 33,000 ornaments and 98 Christmas trees decorating the presidential residence this holiday season, one of the largest holiday displays in recent memory at the White House.
The China Room is decorated to become the “White House Sweet Shop” on Nov. 27, 2023.
Key Facts
This year’s display—illustrating Jill Biden’s chosen theme of “Magic, Wonder, and Joy”— includes 72 wreaths, well above the 25 that adorned the White House last year; 33,892 ornaments and 22,100 bells, 20,000 more than in 2022.
Biden has adorned the White House with 98 Christmas trees this year, almost two dozen more than the 77 used in 2022 and more than the previous record of 81 used by the Trumps in 2018, according to the White House Historical Association.
More than 142,425 holiday lights decorate the trees, garlands, wreaths and other displays in the White House this year, up from 83,615 used last year.
Giant pieces of candy hang from the ceiling of the East Wing, holiday crafts are the focal point of the Red Room and workbenches, tools and ladders circle trees in the State Dining Room, which has been transformed into Santa’s workshop.
The China Room has been decorated to recreate a sweets shop, the Vermeil Room represents the “joy of music and performance during the holidays” and the Blue Room hosts the official White House Christmas Tree, an 18.5-foot Fraser Fir that features the name of every state and territory.
The decor also pays homage to the 200th anniversary of the poem “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”—the traditional gingerbread White House includes a replica of the book, editions from the past 200 years are displayed and on loan from the Library of Congress and Santa’s sleigh and reindeer are suspended above the building’s grand foyer.
Crucial Quote
“The 2023 White House holiday theme is inspired by how children experience this festive season: completely present in the beauty and bounty around them, their senses alight, with hearts open to the magic, wonder, and joy of the holidays,” the Bidens wrote in the 2023 White House Holiday Guide.
Key Background
The first ever Christmas tree at the White House was put up by President Benjamin Harrison in 1889, but it wasn’t until 1923 that the first “national” Christmas tree was put up in Washington, D.C. with the permission of First Lady Grace Coolidge. That tree, put on the Ellipse south of the White House, was lit in front of thousands of spectators by President Calvin Coolidge on Christmas Eve, and every president has erected a national Christmas tree since. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy was the first to select an official theme for the White House Christmas tree in 1961, which she modeled after Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite” ballet. Assistant executive chef Hans Raffert created the first annual White House gingerbread structure in 1969, a tradition that continues today. Over the years, White House holiday decor themes have included “Spirit of America,” “We the People,” “All Things Bright and Beautiful” and “Holiday Reflections.” In addition to the extensive Christmas decorations, a menorah was lit inside the White House for the first time in 2001. Today, the official White House Menorah stands in the Cross Hall.
Big Number
14,975. That’s how many feet of ribbon were used to decorate the White House this year.
Tangent
“‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” was first published under the title “A Visit From St. Nicholas” on Dec. 23, 1823, in The Sentinel, a newspaper published in Troy, New York. It was first published anonymously but professor Clement Clarke Moore took credit for the poem almost 15 years later, though some believe it to have been authored by Major Henry Livingston, Jr. In the 200 years since it was first released, the story has been credited with creating the modern-day image of Santa Claus and hundreds of editions have been published. The Carnegie Mellon Hunt Library houses nearly 400 editions of “A Visit From St. Nicholas” and, in 2006, an original copy written and signed by Moore sold for $280,000 to a buyer identified only as the chief executive officer of a media company.
Further Reading