WASHINTON, DC – The 2024 Capitol Christmas Tree will have its official lighting ceremony in Washington on Tuesday.
The ceremony is set for 5 p.m. and will be streamed in the media player at the top of this story.
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This year’s tree is an 80-foot Sitka Spruce from Wrangell, Alaska in the heart of the Tongass National Forest.
It’s been named “Spruce Wayne” following a vote on social media.
Each year a Capitol Christmas Tree is selected from one of America’s 154 national forests. This is the second tree to come from Alaska - the first was in 2015.
This year’s tree traveled over 4,000 miles for more than three weeks to get to Washington, first across the sea from Alaska and then across the country by truck.
“This year, the tree had quite a journey. It traveled more than 700 miles over the sea and more than 4000 miles on land, made many stops all the way around on its journey to the Capitol,” said Jim Kaufmann, the director of Capitol Grounds and Arboretum for the Architect of the Capitol.
Once the tree is erected on the Capitol grounds, it will be decorated with thousands of handcrafted ornaments made by the people of Alaska.