By Tim Young
A crowd of a few hundred gathered on Capitol Hill Tuesday night to attend the ceremony to light the Capitol’s Christmas Tree.
Speaking at the ceremony were Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers, Thomas Coleman, chairman of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society’s Board of Trustees and Tom Tidwell, chief of the U.S. Forest Service. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Reps. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) and Jeff Denham, (R-Calif.) were also present representing the state that donated the tree.
U.S. Army Band and Jazz@8 — an a cappella choir from Summerville High School in Tuolumne, Calif. — performed holiday songs at the event.
The Speaker of the House ceremoniously lights the tree every year. This year, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was joined by Johnny Crawford, a 7-year-old home-schooled student from Sonora, Calif.
“Christmas is not some distant historical event,” said Boehner. “It is a spirit, always bringing us closer to each other and closer to the peace of which the angels sang.”
The tree will be on display until Jan. 1 and will be lit from dusk until 11 p.m. each day.