The Capitol Christmas tree is now shining in all its glory, with the ceremony having taken place on Thursday, Dec. 6, instead of Wednesday, Dec. 5, due to the passing of former President Bush.
Speaker of the House, Paul D. Ryan, flipped the switch to light up the Christmas tree for his last time.
“This is my fourth and final time leading this event, and each time the tree is more stunning,” Ryan said before lighting the Capitol Christmas tree, according to RollCall.
This year marks the 96th of the annual lighting ceremony.
Originally scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 5, the ceremony was pushed back a day out of respect for former President George H.W. Bush, whose funeral was observed as a national day of mourning.
Helping House Speaker Ryan with the lighting ceremony was 9-year-old Brigette Harrington, whose poem of the beauty of the Oregon outdoors placed first in a contest for school kids out of 1,200.
Based on the famous poem, “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” better known as “Twas the night before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore, Brigette’s poem opens with:
“Twas the month before Christmas, and all through my mind,
Swirled thoughts of my Oregon, all intertwined;
The four seasons how extraordinary, each one of a kind,
Left memories galore for my mind to rewind.”
It seems like a fitting tribute to the state of Oregon as well as to the 82-foot-tall noble fir that traveled thousands of miles from Oregon to the nation’s capital.
The “People’s Tree” will remain lit every dusk until Jan. 1, 2019.