When U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan asked Anna Devolld, a ten year old child from Alaska, to flip the switch, a momentary hush came across the crowd as thousands of lights on a massive tree illumined the West Lawn just below both Houses of Congress.
More than a year of planning went into the lighting of the first US Capitol Christmas Tree from Alaska. Hand crafted ornaments made by hundreds of children and other folks in Alaska now bask in the glow of thousands of lights on the 74 ft. Lutz spruce harvested from the US Forest Service’s Chugach National Forest.
Washington, D.C. has never seen anything like it and that’s not easy to say in a town that isn’t impressed by much.
It took a small army of Federal workers, private sector sponsors and volunteers from across the country to make this special tree’s 4000 mile journey possible across open sea and land. Thanks to their commitment the 2015 Capitol Christmas Tree has become a huge success story and brought joy to thousands in the towns it passed through all along the route across the nation.
It was truly a wonderful “Christmas moment” as evening fell on December 2, to see everyone united in their excitement to see Alaska’s gift to the nation brighten faces and hearts in the Capitol.
