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
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