WASHINGTON, D.C. — Introduced as “the pride of West Virginia,” Ethan Reese, a fourth-grader from Beverly Elementary School, switched on the lights for the 2023 Capitol Christmas Tree during a special ceremony Tuesday evening.
Mike Johnson, the U.S. Speaker of the House, and his wife, Kelly, stood beside Reese as he lit the 63-foot Norway spruce, that was harvested earlier this month from the Greenbrier Ranger District in the Monongahela National Forest in Randolph County.
The ceremony took place on the West Front Lawn of the Capitol.
“Welcome to the Capitol,” Speaker of the House Johnson said during the ceremony. “Thank you to everyone, including our colleagues for joining us here tonight.
“What a fun event. I tell you what, you West Virginians are pretty tough folks! This is pretty cold out here,” Johnson noted.
“I want to give a special thank you to the West Virginia delegation. Sen. Manchin and Sen. Capito, and Rep. Mooney and Rep. Miller, for being here. Thank you for sharing a small piece of your state’s abundant beauty with us in Washington,” he added.
“We are public servants and stewards of the American people, and this tree represents so much of what makes America great. It was cultivated and harvested from a National Forest, it set forth for viewing in an array of communities across the country, and now it will be displayed for all of America to see right in front of the People’s House. … This tree is truly the People’s Tree.”
Johnson called Reese “the pride of West Virginia” while introducing him. Reese came to the podium and read aloud his award-winning essay from the 2023 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree essay contest. Reese then seemed anxious to turn the switch.
“He wants to light the tree,” Johnson said with a laugh. “We’re gonna do that! What a great representative for West Virginia! That was awesome, buddy!”
Reese then counted down “5,4,3,2,1…” and lit the tree, to the applause of the crowd.
West Virginia’s congressional delegation was present for the 2023 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony Tuesday evening.
Senators Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., were on hand for the event, as were Congressional representatives Alex Mooney, R-Second District, and Carol Miller, R-First District.
“This is certainly an honor for West Virginia and a task that we were eager to lend a hand on, as the people of our great state do,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said of the ceremony. “West Virginia has unmatched natural splendor, and our communities and residents are strong. Both of those qualities are displayed in this year’s tree.
“I look forward to seeing this wonderful reminder of home, and sharing a gorgeous piece of our state with the rest of our nation this holiday season,” Capito said.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better evening to light up West Virginia’s U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree,” Manchin posted on social media after the ceremony.
“Thank you to our winning essay writer, Ethan Reese, the Richwood High School Lumberjack Express band, and all of those who joined us from West Virginia for this historic occasion,” Manchin said in the post.
The tree is adorned with ornaments made by the Shawnee Tribe and by children across West Virginia.
The tree will now be lit from dusk until 11 p.m. each evening through Jan. 1.
The National Christmas Tree Lighting will take place Thursday on the Ellipse at The White House and President’s Park, just south of the White House.
A 40-foot Norway spruce, which was harvested near Parsons in the Mon Forest, will serve as the National Christmas Tree and has been placed on the Ellipse at The White House and President’s Park.