by senior contributor Brendan Kownacki
Photo credit: Brendan Kownacki
Holiday cheer may have been front and center when President Obama lit the National Christmas Tree at the end of last week, but there was a steady tone of politics just beneath the surface of all the music and revelry. Maybe it was obvious from the crowd chants of “four more years” during breaks in the music, or off-program jokes from host Eva Longoria about hot mics when Kelly Clarkson was caught warming up backstage…it was all in good fun but certainly was a DC moment interjected into the celebration.
Kelly Clarkson
Lighting the National Tree dates back to 1923 and President Calvin Coolidge and has been an honored tradition in the Nation’s Capital for each President, and this year is especially memorable as the last tree lighting for President Obama and his family. The occasion was a chance to think back to the first year in office and served as a nostalgic chance to see how the family has grown and changed over eight years in DC. The President was joined by his wife Michelle and youngest daughter Sasha.
First Lady Michelle Obama, Sasha Obama, President Barack Obama
The star-studded concert in President’s Park luckily avoided rain and snow as the weather bobbed around in previous days. The event will be broadcast on Monday, December 5th on The Hallmark Channel, a new home for the tree lighting and began with a pre-show from Debbie Matenopoulos & Mark Steines who host a daily morning show on the network called “Home & Family.” Also on hand to warm up the chilly crowd was Bailee Madison, star of the Hallmark series “Good Witch.” Bailee is no stranger to the First Family; last year she joined First Lady Michelle Obama in supporting the ‘Better Make Room’ initiative which is about encouraging education and career planning among youth, and the 17-year-old stands as a great role model for her generation (even stopping to take a selfie or two while coming on stage.)
Eva Longoria
Host Eva Longoria kicked off the 94th annual lighting event, “across from the most famous house in America” by reminding everyone that the holidays are about family, and not just your own but also to think of the families of those serving in the military. Longoria introduced The First Family who came out to much fanfare and flipped the lights on for the magical holiday symbol. This year’s tree to complete the holiday equation is a 30-foot tall Colorado blue spruce that grew in Virginia, covered in red, white, and blue lights from GE Lighting. The location of the National Tree has changed a bit through the years, but the ceremony itself is meant to be a moment of national celebration and a way for communities to forge together in the name of peace for the holidays.
Marc Anthony
Latin superstar Marc Anthony wowed with “Christmas Auld Lang Syne,” followed by a country themed duet of “Beginning to See the Light” from Garth Brooks and wife Trisha Yearwood. Yolanda Adams ramped up the yuletide spirit with a soulful rendition of “O Holy Night,” followed next by Chance The Rapper performing “Sunday Candy,” which got the President’s head bobbing and First Daughter Sasha caught on camera singing along. Veteran artist James Taylor sang “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” to kick off his big weekend in Washington; Taylor was also set to receive the Kennedy Center Honor a few days later. Kelly Clarkson picked up the pace next with “Run, Run, Rudolph” before the First Lady and Olympian Simone Manuel continued on another tradition, reading “The Night Before Christmas” for all the kids in the crowd. The Lumineers took on the Elvis classic “Blue Christmas” before the man we were all waiting for…nope, not Santa yet, first The President.
President Obama
“And this is just another example of why the holidays here at the White House are so special,” said the President. “Last week I pardoned a turkey. Tonight we’re lighting the National Christmas Tree. This one is easier because a tree does not move, it does not gobble. You just push a button and it’s electrified, which is exactly what you DON’T want at a turkey pardoning.” The President proved in his last official tree lighting in office that his humor has been one of the traits that has helped him weather the good and bad days in the office. “I thought that was funny Michelle,” he quipped.
President Obama said that the holidays offer a chance for perspective and reflection and said that we should look at the story of Christ’s birth as inspiration for how we act in our daily lives. “We have to reach out to each other, to forgive each other, to let the light of our good deeds shine for all.” In this final Christmas message the President seemed to offer the words that a still-divided nation, fractured from the election results might need, calling the theme of the holidays, “a message of unity and a message of decency and a message of hope, that never goes out of style.” The President thanked the nation for the chance to serve over the last eight years and said his family has been “awed by America’s goodness.”
And now, cue Santa, joining the stage full of performers in front of the White House and the beaming tree for an echoing chorus of “Jingle Bells” with The First Family. That’s a wrap.
