National Christmas Tree

 

National Christmas Tree lighting event, 2023.

NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

Watch the National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony

In person:

This year’s event will take place on Thursday, Dec. 5 on the Ellipse. Free tickets are required for entry for this event. Tickets can be awarded through an online lottery, which will close on Oct. 30 at 10 a.m. ET. To enter the lottery, visit recreation.gov and click “TICKET LOTTERY.” You may also call 877-444-6777 to enter the lottery. Lottery applicants will be notified about their ticket status on Nov. 8.

On television/streaming:

The event is typically televised after the live event. More details will be available at a later date.

About the National Christmas Tree

Details regarding the 2024 tree will be available at a later date.

The 2023 tree was a cut, 40-foot-tall Norway spruce from the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. This is the first time the NPS and USDA Forest Service have partnered to bring a tree to the Ellipse.

Before 1973, the National Park Service used cut trees as National Christmas trees. The NPS and event partners will evaluate whether to continue using a cut tree or to plant a new tree, after this holiday season.

The beloved tradition of the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony began Christmas Eve in 1923 when President Calvin Coolidge lit a 48-foot Balsam Fir from Vermont decorated with 2,500 red, white, and green electric bulbs. Learn more about the history of the National Christmas Tree.

 

Pathway of Peace, 2019

NPS / Liz Macro

Visit the National Christmas Tree and the Pathway of Peace

The National Christmas Tree is located south of the White House on the Ellipse. The Pathway of Peace is a collection of trees with student-designed ornaments representing the United States' 56 states and territories, and schools managed by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education and the Department of Defense Education Activity. There is no fee to visit either attraction.

The site will be open everyday from December 7 through Janurary 1. The trees will typical be lit up on at sunset each evening. Operating hours for the site will be as followed:

-Sundays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
-Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.