White House Hanukkah Party the Frontier". For two centuries after the time of the story about George Washington and Hanukkah, Christmas was the only winter religious holiday officially recognized by the White House. In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge began lighting an official White House Christmas Tree, and also delivered the first formal presidential message for the holiday. In 1927, his proclamation included the statement that, "Christmas is not a time or a season, but a state of mind". Focusing on the holiday's message, he continued, would guarantee that "there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending
White House Hanukkah Party In addition to continuing the tradition of the White House Hanukkah Party, the Obamas hosted and attended the White House Passover Seder, the first Passover Seder conducted by a sitting US president in the White House. The Seder was originally conducted by three Jewish staffers working on Obama's presidential campaign in 2008, who were surprised when the president tracked them down and joined them – but it became an annual event for all eight years of Obama's administration. Additionally, on May 27, 2010, the Obamas hosted the first White House reception for Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM), an annual, month-long