At 56 schools across the country, students are creating one-of-a-kind ornaments for the 2019 National Christmas Tree display on the Ellipse in President’s Park. These handcrafted ornaments will adorn 56 smaller trees that surround the National Christmas Tree. The 56 trees represent each U.S. state, territory and the District of Columbia as part of the America Celebrates display.
“I never would have imagined I could actually create an ornament for the National Christmas Tree display that represents my entire state!" Kayden Moore, a seventh grade student at Harlem Middle School in Loves Park, Illinois said. “It is an honor that students from our small city were chosen for this once in a lifetime event!"
From state flowers to notable landmarks, students across the country are creating ornaments that celebrate their state, district or territory. Learn about last year’s student artists and ornaments.
“Everyone has a home but not everyone has the honor of representing their home in Washington, D.C.," Danica Lambert, a seventh grader at St. James-St. John School in New Bedford, Massachusetts said. “My heart is filled with love and joy to be able to represent my home of Massachusetts."
Through a partnership with the National Park Service, the U.S. Department of Education worked with state art and education agencies to identify elementary, middle and high schools whose students would create the ornaments for the America Celebrates display. Over 1,500 students will participate in this year’s project. The project is funded by the National Park Foundation.
"I am happy that other people get to see our work!" Brian Hunter, a sixth grade student at Marvin M. Sedway Middle School in North Las Vegas, Nevada, said. "I want to show everyone that we can do it!"
The America Celebrates display is one of the highlights of the National Christmas Tree experience, which will begin on Thursday, Dec. 5 with the 97th Annual National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.
56 schools to create ornaments for 2019 National Christmas Tree display in President’s Park:
Alabama
Hamilton High School
Alaska
Valley Pathways High School
American Samoa
Leone High School
Arizona
Grand Canyon Unified School District
Arkansas
Monticello High School
California
West Valley High School
Colorado
Grand Mountain School
Connecticut
House of Arts, Letters and Science (HALS) Academy
Delaware
Cab Calloway School of the Arts
District of Columbia
Ballou High School
Florida
Suwannee High School
Georgia
Valley Point Middle School
Guam
Simon Sanchez High School
Hawaii
Maui High School
Idaho
Timberline High School
Illinois
Harlem Middle School
Indiana
Paoli High School
Iowa
Clear Creek Amana Middle School
Kansas
Cheney High School
Kentucky
Adair County High School
Louisiana
Dutchtown High School
Maine
Presque Isle High School
Maryland
North Hagerstown High School
Massachusetts
St. James - St. John School
Michigan
NorthPointe Christian High School
Minnesota
Riverside Christian School
Mississippi
Florence High School
Missouri
Carthage High School
Montana
Hellgate High School
Nebraska
Lutheran High Northeast
Nevada
Marvin M. Sedway Middle School
New Hampshire
Belmont Middle School
New Jersey
Morris County School of Technology
New Mexico
Los Alamos Middle School
New York
Averill Park High School
North Carolina
Bethel School
North Dakota
Simle Middle School
Northern Mariana Islands
Saipan Southern High School
Ohio
Firelands High School
Oklahoma
Coweta High School
Oregon
Howard Street Charter School
Pennsylvania
Danville Area Middle School
Puerto Rico
Ernesto Ramos Antonini Fine Arts School
Rhode Island
Exeter-West Greenwich High School
South Carolina
Johnston-Edgefield-Trenton Middle School
South Dakota
Sisseton Middle School
Tennessee
D-B EXCEL
Texas
Lyford Middle School
Utah
Whitehorse High School
Vermont
The School of Sacred Heart Saint Francis de Sales
US Virgin Islands
Arthur Richards K-8 School
Virginia
Appomattox Regional Governor’s School for the Arts and Technology
Washington
Cavelero Mid High School
West Virginia
Robert L. Bland Middle School
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Red Creek Elementary School
Wyoming Indian Middle School
The National Christmas Tree Lighting has strong ties to education. In 1923, a letter arrived at the White House from the District of Columbia Public Schools proposing that a decorated Christmas tree be placed on the South Lawn of the White House. On Christmas Eve that year, President Calvin Coolidge walked from the Oval Office to the Ellipse and pushed a button that lit the first National Christmas Tree. It was a 48-foot fir donated by Middlebury College in Vermont.
Since 1973, the National Christmas Tree has been a living tree which can be viewed year-round in President’s Park - one of America’s 419 national parks! The National Park Service recently planted a new Colorado blue spruce to serve as the National Christmas Tree.
The National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will kick off the holiday season with live musical performances, special guests and the official lighting of the National Christmas Tree. The festivities continue with a daily lighting of the National Christmas Tree, free evening musical performances and a chance to see the 56 state, district and territory trees and their ornaments up close from Dec. 9, 2019 through Jan. 1, 2020.
For more event information and updates, please visit www.thenationaltree.org or follow President’s Park on Facebook or Twitter. Join the conversation online using the hashtag #NCTL2019.
Tags: holiday national christmas tree ceremony national christmas tree presidents park ornament education
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
