White House Christmas tree not ordered one by December 23. Additionally, other presidents never displayed a tree in the White House. First U.S. President George Washington held office at a time when there was no White House, thus it is impossible for him to have displayed a tree there. There is no evidence that Abraham Lincoln ever displayed a Christmas tree in the White House. In 1922 First Lady Florence Harding's illness led to a more subdued Christmas celebration at the White House and no Christmas tree. The official White House Christmas tree has several times been seen as controversial by some. In 1899
Christmas in the post-war United States White House. On Christmas Eve, President Calvin Coolidge lit the 2,500 red, white and green electric bulbs on the tree. In 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had the tree moved from the Ellipse to the White House grounds, where it remained until 1954 when it was returned to the Ellipse. In 1946, the lighting ceremony became a televised event, though not with widespread telecast. From 1948 to 1951, President Harry S. Truman signalled the lighting of the tree by remote control from his Independence, Missouri home, but in 1952, he stayed at the White House for the lighting ceremony. In