From Darren Smith,
Your Guide to US & Canadian Parks.
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In 1981, Ronald Reagan pushed the button from the East Room of the White House. In 1979 and 1980, Jimmy Carter didn't push the button, in honor of the Americans being held hostage in Iran. In 1963, Lyndon Johnson delayed pushing the button until after a 30-day period of mourning for the assassinated President John F. Kennedy. No, I'm not referring to a nuclear detonation -- rather, to the ceremony of lighting the national Christmas Tree from the White House, which has been an unbroken tradition of U.S. Presidents from Calvin Coolidge to George W. Bush.

As far back as 1913, President Woodrow Wilson had asked for a community Christmas tree to be placed at the Capitol so that a tree lighting ceremony could be recognized as a national event. On Christmas Eve of that year, a crowd of 20,000 was entertained by the U.S. Marine Band, 1,000 singers, and a costumed group of people re-enacting the Nativity.

Today, the lighting of the National Christmas Tree is just one part of what has become a major event at the White House -- the Christmas Pageant of Peace first established in 1954). Activities include featured guest performers, strolling costumed entertainers, and more than 50 volunteer choirs, gospel groups, bell ringers, and cloggers providing live musical performances.

What once was a single Christmas tree, now includes a main tree with 56 smaller trees -- one for each state, territory, and the District of Columbia -- lining the Pathway of Peace. In 2007, the filament-burning bulbs that adorned the National Christmas Tree were replaced by energy-efficient light-emitting diodes, or LEDs.

Lore of the National Tree
In 1923, First Lady Grace Coolidge gave permission for the District of Columbia Public Schools to erect a Christmas tree in President's Park (now known as the Ellipse), south of the White House. The organizers named the tree the "National Christmas Tree." Two years later, Calvin Coolidge began the tradition of delivering the President's Christmas message. Christmas tree locations were moved from the Ellipse in 1923, to Sherman Plaza (near the east entrance to the White House) from 1924-1933, to Lafayette Park from 1934-1938, and then back to the Ellipse again in 1939-1940.

The history of Christmas tree lighting ceremonies at the White House is steeped in symbolism. The 1941 tree lighting, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, included a surprise appearance by Sir Winston Churchill at President Franklin Roosevelt's side on the south portico. Wartime blackouts kept the tree unlit from 1942 until 1944. Following World War II and the Korean War, the Christmas Pageant of Peace Inc. was organized and the scope of the National Community Christmas Tree Celebration was broadened to emphasize the desire for peace through the spirit and meaning of Christmas. On Dec. 17, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower lit the first National Christmas Tree for the Pageant of Peace. It was the first time the program had not been held on Christmas Eve.

In 1980, the tree was only fully lighted for 417 seconds--one second for each day the hostages had been in captivity. In 1984 The nativity scene was reinstated as being historically and legally appropriate for display during the Pageant of Peace in light of a U.S. Supreme Court decision. The tradition of displaying the nativity scene had been discontinued in 1973, following a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit which decided an argument based upon U.S. Constitutional rights of religious freedom.

On Christmas Eve of 1985, President Bush directed that the lights on the tree be turned down momentarily in support of American hostages in Lebanon and their families at home.