By: History.com Editors

1923

President Coolidge lights first national Christmas tree

History.com Editors

President Coolidge lights the first national Christmas tree.

Library of Congress

Published: November 16, 2009

Last Updated: March 02, 2025

On December 24, 1923, President Calvin Coolidge touches a button and lights up the first national Christmas tree to grace the White House grounds.

History of Christmas Trees

From millions of homes worldwide to the White House, the Christmas tree is a tradition that owes its popularity in part to a popular British queen.

Not only was this the first White House “community” Christmas tree, but it was the first to be decorated with electric lights—a strand of 2,500 red, white and green bulbs. The balsam fir came from Coolidge’s home state of Vermont and stood 48 feet tall. Several musical groups performed at the tree-lighting ceremony, including the Epiphany Church choir and the U.S. Marine Band. Later that evening, President Coolidge and first lady Grace were treated to carols sung by members of Washington, D.C.’s First Congregational Church.

According to the White House Historical Association, President Benjamin Harrison was the first president to set up an indoor Christmas tree for his family and visitors to enjoy in 1889. It was decorated with ornaments and candles. In 1929, first lady Lou Henry Hoover oversaw what would become an annual tradition of decorating the indoor White House tree. Since then, each first lady’s duties have included the trimming of the official White House tree.

Coolidge’s “inauguration” of the first outdoor national Christmas tree initiated a tradition that has been repeated with every administration. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan began another custom by authorizing the first official White House ornament, copies of which were made available for purchase.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on December 24th

1801

Richard Trevithick introduces his “Puffing Devil”

British inventor Richard Trevithick takes seven of his friends for a test ride on his “Puffing Devil,” or “Puffer,” the first steam-powered passenger vehicle, on December 24, 1801. Unlike the steam engine pioneered by the Scotsman James Watt, Trevithick’s used “strong steam”—that is, steam at a very high pressure (145 pounds per square inch, or psi). Trevithick’s engines were extremely versatile: They could be put to work in mines, on farms, in factories, on ships and in locomotives of all kinds.

1814

Treaty signed to end the War of 1812

The Treaty of Peace and Amity between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America is signed by British and American representatives at Ghent, Belgium, ending the War of 1812. By terms of the treaty, all conquered territory was to be returned, and commissions were planned to settle the boundary of the United States and Canada.

1851

Fire ravages Library of Congress

A devastating fire at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroys about two-thirds of its 55,000 volumes, including most of Thomas Jefferson’s personal library, sold to the institution in 1815.

1948

A family moves into the world’s first fully solar house

On Christmas Eve 1948, a family of three moves into a home in Dover, Massachusetts with unusually large windows—the world’s first fully solar house, an idea decades ahead of its time. Nobody had ever tried living in a residence heated only by the sun, much less through a frigid New England winter.

modern glass fronted house in snowy landscape

1952

McCarran-Walter Act goes into effect, revising immigration laws

The McCarran-Walter Act takes effect and revises U.S. immigration laws. The law was hailed by supporters as a necessary step in preventing alleged communist subversion in the United States, while opponents decried the legislation as being xenophobic and discriminatory.

1964

Viet Cong bomb Brinks Hotel

Two Viet Cong agents disguised as South Vietnamese soldiers leave a car filled with explosives parked at the Brinks Hotel in Saigon. The hotel was housing U.S. officers. Two Americans were killed in the blast and 65 Americans and Vietnamese were injured.

1972

Bob Hope gives his last show in Vietnam

Comedian Bob Hope gives what he says is his last Christmas show to U.S. servicemen in Saigon. Hope was a comedian and star of stage, radio, television and over 50 feature films.

1973

Stephenie Meyer, best-selling author of “Twilight” novels, is born

On December 24, 1973, Stephenie Meyer, author of the “Twilight” novels, a vampire romance series for young adults that became a literary phenomenon, is born in Hartford, Connecticut.

1979

Soviet Union invades Afghanistan

On December 24, 1979, the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, under the pretext of upholding the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty of 1978.

The Soviet army in Kabul, Afghanistan on December 31st, 1979.

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Citation Information

Article title
President Coolidge lights first national Christmas tree
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
March 22, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
March 02, 2025
Original Published Date
November 16, 2009

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