On December 24, 1923, President Calvin Coolidge touched a button
and lights up the first national Christmas tree to grace the White
House grounds.
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.
President Calvin Coolidge and his wife First Lady Grace.
