The 2012 Capitol Christmas tree will arrive at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Monday, November 26.
This year's tree, a 65-foot engelmann spruce, was harvested from White River National Forest, Colorado, on November 2nd. Over the next several weeks the tree will journey across the country before arriving at the U.S. Capitol with more than 5,000 handmade ornaments depicting his year's theme, "Celebrating Our Great Outdoors."
After the arrival of the Capitol Christmas tree the Architect of the Capitol will use a large crane to place the tree on the enter of the West Front lawn. Once in place, AOC staff work quickly to decorate the tree with lights and ornaments in time for the Speaker of the House to mark the start of the holiday season with the annual lighting ceremony in December. The tree is subsequently lit by the AOC each evening throughout the season for everyone to enjoy.
