President Donald Trump returned the ‘Christ’ to Christmas in a beautifully-prepared ceremony centered around the annual tradition of lighting a massive tree on the White House grounds. Trump continued a tradition begun over 100 years ago, rightfully invoking the birth of the Baby Jesus as the foundational element of celebration this time of year.
“As we prepare to celebrate the miracle of Christmas, we thank God for his many blessings, and together we rejoice at the true source of greatness, happiness and strength. The good news is the glorious nights 2000 years ago. Think of it 2000 years ago, it was indeed a glorious night,” Trump said of the origins of Christmas.
He then characterized his speech with classic Trumpisms, noting that he loved everyone in the country despite not liking them. The same could be said of them not liking him; but he loves them anyway. “So I want to thank everybody here. I want to pay my deepest respect and love to all of our great citizens, like 350 million people. We love them all, whether you like them or not. We love them all. We want to take care of everybody. We have to take care of everybody in our country.”
A short clip of the speech closes with him wishing everyone a ‘Merry Christmas’ – another welcome return to the White House. “I want to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and have a good time and you’re going to see some great entertainment. Thank you very much everybody. Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, happy New Year. Thank you, everybody!”
Watch Trump spread holiday cheer below:
In a separate moment at the same ceremony, Trump elicited loud cheers as he and the live audience counted down to mark the official lighting of the tree. “So is everybody ready to light the beautiful Christmas tree? Are you ready? So the first lady is going to do the honors, and we’re going to do a countdown. We’ll go from five to zero, okay?” Upon reaching the final number, the tree lights up in a serene blaze of glory as music fills the air.
Watch that moment below:
According to the organization in charge of the festivities, former President Calvin Coolidge is credited with starting what is now a beloved the tradition. Per National Christmas Tree Lighting: “In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge walked from the White House to the Ellipse to light a 48-foot fir tree decorated with 2,500 electric bulbs in red, white and green, as a local choir and a “quartet” from the U.S. Marine Band performed. Decades later, this American holiday tradition continues to bring citizens together to share in a message of hope and peace.”