• The Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Lighting of the National Christmas Tree will take place on Thursday, December 4, 2008. Please return at a later date for additional information.
  
  
• 2008 National Christmas Tree Music Program - Application and Information sheet 
  
  
• 2007 State Tree Sponsors - Click here to view the 56 states, territories and the District of Columbia trees.
  
  
• 2007 Lighting of the National Christmas Tree Ceremony Slideshow

• Lighting of the National Christmas Tree Ceremony
  
  
• National Christmas Tree Program Activities 
  
  
• National Christmas Tree Music Program
  

The tree lighting ceremony begins each year’s National Christmas Tree Program. Nationally known entertainers and a military band add to the celebratory evening in which the President brings a message of peace to the nation and the world. The culmination of the evening is the illumination of the National Christmas Tree.

Seasonal displays include a Yule log and a large-scale model train. For the 13th consecutive year, the National Capital Trackers, a local model train club, will provide model trains that surround the base of the National Christmas Tree. The trains will run from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily through January 1st.

In what becomes the "Pathway of Peace," the National Christmas Tree and 56 smaller trees--one for each state, five territories and the District of Columbia--serve as the event focal point. All 57 trees will be lit each evening at dusk until 11:00 p.m. and will be lit each night through January 1st. Sponsoring organizations in each state provide the tree decorations and each decoration is encased in a protective plastic globe to shield it from the weather.

The National Park Service will be accepting applications for the 2008 evening music program from Monday, September 1 until Friday, September 19.  Click here to apply