WASHINGTON (WV News) — Ethan Reese, a fourth-grader from Randolph County, helped light the 2023 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree on Tuesday evening.

Reese joined U.S. Reps. Carol Miller and Alex Mooney and U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin and other officials for the ceremony featuring a 63-foot Norway spruce harvested from the Greenbrier District of the Monongahela National Forest.

Reese earned the honor of serving as youth tree lighter after his essay was selected as the winner out of more than 400 entries in this year’s U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree essay contest.

Reese wrote in his essay:

“I spend a lot of time there (Monongahela National Forest) with my family, and I am the great-great-grandson of one of the very first superintendents of the Monongahela National Forest. The biggest reason I love West Virginia forests and public lands is because they allow me to spend time with my family. I take photographs with my dad, hike with my mom, fish with my grandpa, identify wildflowers with my grandparents, travel and explore with my parents, and camp with all of my family.”

Known as “The People’s Tree,” the evergreen lights up the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol during the holiday season and is selected from a different national forest each year.

The Monongahela National Forest was selected back in January to provide the tree. The tree was harvested on Nov. 1 and arrived at the Capitol on Nov. 17 after a 14-stop tour around the Mountain State.

The ornaments on the tree have a West Virginia connection too. WVU Extension organized a service project that saw 4-H clubs, Community Educational Outreach Service clubs and other volunteers around the state create nearly 6,000 ornaments that will adorn the Capitol Tree and more than 65 other Christmas trees in Washington this holiday season.

This year’s tree has been named “Wa’feem’tekwi” by the Shawnee Tribe. The name means “Bright Tree” in the Shawnee language. The Forest Service invited the Shawnee Tribe to name the tree as part of the ongoing celebration of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree initiative and to honor the agency’s unique nation-to-nation relationship with the Shawnee Tribe.

Capito said the Capitol Tree shines “a positive light” on West Virginia.

“It’s wonderful to show our appreciation for our state,” she said. “I would love to personally thank the Mon National Forest and its workers and Randolph County, the workers of the Mon National Forest and the lumberjacks who harvested the tree for this momentous occasion. I thank you. This tree has probably traveled more around the state than any of us. I am just so proud our state can be represented in such a positive light.”

US Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., said being chosen to provide the Capitol tree is an honor for her home state.

“As a born and proud West Virginian, I am honored we were chosen,” she said. “This is the third time our state has been chosen to provide a tree for the Capitol lawn.”

US Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., thanked all those who made ornaments for the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree.

“This tradition has been going on for more than 50 years,” he said. “I would like to thank all of the children and volunteers who helped make over 5,000 ornaments to decorate this tree with. I am also pleased that our beautiful state is providing the tree at the White House just down the street.”

The Monongahela National Forest also provided the National Christmas Tree at the White House after the first tree had to be removed because it developed needle cast, a fungal disease that caused the tree’s needles to turn brown and fall off.

Manchin called Tuesday’s tree lighting “a big deal for West Virginia.”

The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree will be lit from sundown until 11 p.m. every day until Jan.1. The tree is tentatively scheduled to be removed on Jan. 3, 2024.