White House Christmas tree the White House of President William McKinley received letters urging the president to forgo participation in the "Christmas tree habit". The letter writers, which the "Chicago Daily Tribune" noted had taken up the "forestry fad", referred to "arboreal infanticide", according to the "Tribune". Those opposed to a tree in the White House that year also termed Christmas trees "un-American" because it was a historically German tradition. At least one tree was displayed in the White House that year, in the kitchen department, for the maids. The Nixon administration's choice of tree topper, the atomic symbol of peace rather than a
Christmas card The practice originated with President Calvin Coolidge, who was the first president to issue a written statement of peaceful tidings during the holidays in 1927. President Herbert Hoover was the first to give Christmas notes to the White House staff, and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the first president to utilize the card format (rather than the previously used notes or a written statement) that most closely resembles the Christmas cards of today. In 1953, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first official White House card. The cards usually depict White House scenes as rendered by prominent American artists.