Two prominent Christmas trees were lighted in the nation's capital this week, and each has a connection to the Chattanooga area.
The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree was briefly in Chattanooga on Nov. 21 during its two-week transport from Carson National Forest in New Mexico to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
While its semi hauler was parked at Miller Park, area residents were able to view the 60-foot blue spruce, entombed within a plexiglass frame for its cross-country trip, take selfies with the tree and sign their names to a banner. It was illuminated in ceremonies Wednesday night, awash in white lights and dotted with white stars.
Meanwhile, the National Christmas Tree was lighted Thursday night at President's Park across from the White House, with 23 students from Valley Point Middle School in Dalton, Georgia, in the crowd. That ceremony will be televised Monday night on cable television.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump presided over the lighting of the National Christmas Tree, a 30-foot Colorado blue spruce from Palmyra, Pennsylvania. Fifty-six smaller trees surround it, each featuring one-of-a-kind ornaments representing every U.S. state, territory and the District of Columbia.
The Dalton students completed 24 ornaments for Georgia's tree (one student made two). Visual arts teacher Kimberly Brumagen said she selected her Study Skills class for the project.
Tune in
* The National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony will be broadcast Monday, Dec. 9, at 8 p.m. on Reelz and at 9 p.m. on Ovation.
"They are a mix of sixth, seventh and eighth grade students who have an interest in art," she said. "I let them spearhead the project, using the state as our theme."
The National Park Service, which oversees President's Park, provided 5.5-inch clear plastic balls to more than 1,500 participating students with instructions that any media could be used. The balls arrived in two pieces so that vignettes could be inserted inside if desired. Brumagen said her students decided to glue theirs together and decorate the outside with paint.
"In the past, people put things in them, such as origami, but because (the ornaments) are outside, they would get destroyed by the condensation," Brumagen explained. "Because of this, we stayed with acrylic paint and a sealer."
Their designs included several state symbols, including a peach tree (fruit), brown thrasher (bird), eastern tiger swallowtail (butterfly) and Cherokee rose (flower). Two ornaments also pay tribute to the 39th president, Jimmy Carter. One is a portrait, the other a peanut in honor of the Georgia native's early farming days.
Brumagen said the Valley Point students were chosen to participate because a former teacher had the students contribute ornaments to the governor's Christmas tree last year and the Georgia Department of Education remembered those efforts.
Brumagen said the students were "thrilled and honored and beyond excited to be able to be part of this and to actually go to D.C."
Tennessee was represented by alternative high school D-B EXCEL in Kingsport. Alabama was represented by Hamilton High School.
This is the 98th year for the National Christmas Tree lighting. The tradition dates to 1923 when President Calvin Coolidge lit the tree as a local choir and small U.S. Marine Band performed. Since 1973, the National Christmas Tree has been a living tree that can be viewed year-round in President's Park.
The tradition of the Capitol Christmas Tree began in 1964 when Speaker of the House John W. McCormack (D-Mass.) placed a live Christmas tree on the Capitol lawn. The tree lived three years before succumbing to wind and root damage. In 1970 the Capitol architect asked the U.S. Forest Service to provide a Christmas tree. Each year since then, a different national forest has been chosen to provide "The People's Tree."
Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.