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 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.