Originally scheduled for Wednesday, the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree lighting [1] to take place on the West Lawn of the Capitol has been postponed until Thursday, December 6, at 5:00 p.m. With the passing of former President George H.W. Bush, Wednesday has been declared a national day of mourning.
The tree lighting of “The People’s Tree” is free and open to the public, and will be broadcast on C-SPAN and streaming on Facebook [2].
This year’s tree came from the Willamette National Forest [3] in Oregon by way of cross-country tour involving more than 25 communities along the way. It arrived in Maryland on November 25 after traveling more than 3,000 miles that commemorated the 175th anniversary of the Oregon Trail in the reverse direction as early settlers.
The tree made stops at communities along the Trail with familiar names that history lovers will recognize: numerous cities in Oregon including Sweet Home, Springfield, Bend; other cities including Soda Springs, ID; Fort Bridger, WY; Laramie, WY; Nebraska City, NE; Perry, KS; Kansas City, MO; Independence, MO; St. Louis, MO; Harrison, OH; and finally at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland a week ago.
The fun begins at 5:00 Thursday.