Kennedy Center to Unveil First-Ever Christmas Tree in Milestone Holiday Celebration
In a historic first, the Kennedy Center will brighten the nation’s capital with its inaugural Christmas tree lighting ceremony this December, marking a significant new chapter for America’s premier cultural venue. The 18-foot red spruce, harvested from the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in Virginia’s Appalachian Mountains, will serve as the centerpiece of a celebration designed to create new holiday traditions for families and visitors. “The Kennedy Center’s inaugural Christmas Tree Lighting is a milestone for America’s cultural center, one of Washington’s premier holiday attractions,” said Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations. This partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service showcases a magnificent tree from the Southern Appalachians while establishing what promises to become a cherished annual tradition in Washington D.C.’s holiday landscape.
The December 17th lighting ceremony represents more than just decorative festivities—it signals a deliberate shift in programming under the leadership of Kennedy Center President and Ambassador Richard Grenell. Since taking the helm, Grenell has emphasized incorporating more traditional and faith-focused holiday programming at the venue. The tree lighting will feature Christmas entertainment and remarks from Kennedy Center leadership and special guests, inviting families to participate in what officials describe as “a historic moment for America’s cultural center as it establishes a new holiday tradition in the nation’s capital.” This initiative aligns with Grenell’s February promise to usher in a “Golden Age of the Arts” with performances that appeal to a broad audience while addressing the center’s financial challenges.
While the Kennedy Center has traditionally hosted Christmas events, this year’s calendar prominently features celebrations centered on the religious aspects of the holiday, including a Christmas concert with a live nativity scene. “We are proud to present a meaningful, faith-filled experience for families to immerse themselves in the Christmas story at America’s cultural center,” Daravi told The Christian Post. “Tis the season to create cherished memories and celebrate the sacred alongside the festive.” This programming direction represents a deliberate emphasis on traditional Christmas themes that Grenell had signaled earlier in his tenure. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, he remarked, “How crazy is it to think that we’re going to celebrate Christ at Christmas with a big traditional production, to celebrate what we are all celebrating in the world during Christmastime, which is the birth of Christ?”
The shift toward more faith-centered holiday programming comes after the Kennedy Center had previously faced criticism from President Donald Trump and his administration regarding some of its more progressive performances outside the holiday season. The venue, which serves as the national cultural center of the United States and occupies a prominent location along the Potomac River, has hosted contentious events including drag shows that drew conservative criticism. By emphasizing Christmas-centered events that focus on traditional and religious aspects of the holiday, the Kennedy Center appears to be responding to those criticisms while creating programming that it believes will appeal to a wider audience of visitors to the nation’s capital.
This Christmas tree initiative joins other recent Kennedy Center changes aligned with traditional values, including the National Symphony Orchestra’s new policy of opening all Kennedy Center performances with the National Anthem. These programming decisions reflect Grenell’s stated commitment to revitalizing the venue with performances that attract visitors while honoring American traditions. The challenges facing the Kennedy Center are substantial—the institution has struggled financially for years, consistently operating at a loss—and Grenell’s strategy appears aimed at broadening its appeal through recognizable and traditional cultural touchpoints like Christmas celebrations centered on the holiday’s religious significance.
As Washington prepares for the holiday season, the Kennedy Center’s first Christmas tree stands to become a new landmark in the capital’s festive landscape. The ceremony on December 17th will not only illuminate a towering spruce from Virginia’s mountains but also illuminate the Kennedy Center’s evolving identity under its current leadership. By establishing this new holiday tradition, the venue is simultaneously honoring Christmas’s religious roots while creating a fresh cultural experience for visitors to America’s national cultural center. For families visiting Washington this December, the Kennedy Center’s Christmas tree and associated faith-centered holiday programming offer a new option for celebrating the season in the nation’s capital—one that explicitly embraces the Christian foundations of the Christmas holiday alongside its festive elements.
