The Capitol Christmas Tree arrives on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. The 85-foot blue spruce is from Arizona’s Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and will be lighted by Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009. ( Mary F. Calvert/The Washington Times )The U.S. Capitol Christmas tree arrived Monday in Washington from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona.
The tree will stand on the Capitol’s West Lawn and will be decorated with roughly 5,000 ornaments from residents across Arizona. This year’s theme is “Arizona’s Gift From the Grand Canyon State.
The 85-foot-tall blue spruce will be lighted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a Dec. 8 twilight ceremony.
“Each year, the arrival of the Capitol Christmas tree kicks off a joyous holiday time,” said Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat. “May ‘the people’s tree’ light the way for blessed and happy holidays.”
The 5 p.m. event will be led by Stephen T. Ayers, acting architect of the Capitol.
The tree and the lighting has been a tradition since 1964. The tree is lighted from nightfall until 11 p.m. through New Year’s Day.
For the fifth year in a row, strands of LED lights will decorate the tree. The lights use little electricity and have a long life span.
Joseph Weber is a congressional reporter, his first job upon coming to Washington in 1992. Mr. Weber joined The Washington Times in 2002 as a metro desk editor and ran the section for several years, working on such stories as the Virginia Tech massacre, the Supreme Court case on the District’s handgun law, the D.C. snipers and the 2008 presidential ...
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