National Christmas Tree

National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, 2025.

NPS / Nathan King

About the National Christmas Tree

The beloved tradition of the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony began Christmas Eve in 1923 when President Calvin Coolidge lit a 48-foot Balsam Fir from Vermont decorated with 2,500 red, white, and green electric bulbs. Learn more about the history of the National Christmas Tree.

The 2025 National Christmas Tree was a 35 foot red spruce from the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest in Virginia.

The 2025 National Christmas Tree lighting was Thursday, December 4, 2025. For information on how to watch the event, visit thenationaltree.org.

 

Student ornament display at the National Christmas Tree site (2025).

NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

Visiting the National Christmas Tree and the Student Ornament Display

The National Christmas Tree site was open December 6, 2025, through January 1, 2026.

The National Christmas Tree site is located south of the White House on the Ellipse. Surrounding the 2025 National Christmas tree was the America Celebrates display, a collection of 59 trees featuring student-designed ornaments representing the United States' 56 states and territories, schools managed by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education and the Department of Defense Education Activity, as well as winners of the America250 America’s Field Trip contest.

There is no fee to visit the National Christmas Tree site each year.