December 6, 2011

Lighting of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree

Despite rainy weather, a crowd gathered to watch the lighting of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011. It was lit by Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, with help from Johnny Crawford, 7, from Sonora, Calif. With the flip of a switch the tree shone with nearly 10,000 lights and 5,000 ornaments while members of the Summerville Highschool Choir in Tuolumne, Calif., and the U.S. Army Band provided music. The 63-foot-tall Sierra White Fir comes from Stanislaus National Forest in California’s Central Sierra Nevada Mountains. It’s 118 years old, weighs more than 4 tons and is probably the only tree with its own social network.