<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Website </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> www.thenationaltree.org </Td> </Tr> <P> The National Christmas Tree is a large evergreen tree located in the northeast quadrant of The Ellipse near the White House in Washington, D.C. Each year since 1923, the tree has been decorated as a Christmas tree . Every early December, the tree is traditionally lit by the President of the United States . Every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt has made formal remarks during the tree lighting ceremony . Since 1954, the event has marked the start of month - long festivities known as the Pageant of Peace . Smaller trees representing the U.S. states, District of Columbia, and the five territories around the National Christmas Tree are referred to as the Pathway to Peace . </P> <P> The idea of a decorated, outdoor national Christmas tree originated with Frederick Morris Feiker . Feiker was a highly educated engineer who had been a technical journalist for General Electric from 1906 - 1907 and editor of Electrical World and Electrical Merchandising from 1915 to 1921 . In 1921, Feiker joined the personal staff of United States Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover as a press aide . The Society for Electrical Development (an electrical industry trade group) was looking for a way to encourage people to purchase more electric Christmas lights and use electricity, and Feiker suggested that President Calvin Coolidge personally light the tree as a way of giving Christmas lights prominence and social cachet . Vermont Republican Senator Frank L. Greene accompanied Feiker to the White House, where they successfully convinced Coolidge to light the tree . </P>

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