This year’s White House holiday decorations

WASHINGTON (AP) — “We the People” is Jill Biden’s holiday theme, where “people” transform themselves into tree ornaments, mantel displays, mirrors and do-it-yourself pieces that have transformed the mansion masses. It consists of White House decorations designed to make you see yourself in a winter wonderland.

“The soul of our nation is, and always has been, ‘We the People’.” first lady “And that’s what inspired this year’s White House holiday decorations.”

“The values ​​that unite us are everywhere: a belief in possibility, optimism, and solidarity,” Jill Biden said. It represents what connects

Slideshow: White House Christmas Decorations 2022

Public rooms unite the power of honoring and remembering deceased loved ones, words and stories, kindness and gratitude, food and tradition, nature and recreation, song and sound, unity and hope, faith and light, and children. I am dedicated to it.

Stepping into the East Wing, visitors are greeted by trees enveloped in the scent of pine and adorned with mirror-like Venus ornaments bearing the names of fallen soldiers.

Winter trees, forest animals, and glowing lanterns along the corridor make you feel like you are walking in the snow.

resemble Biden family pets — Commander and Willow the Dog and Cat — first appear at the end of the hallway before appearing in the Vermeil Room, a celebration of kindness and gratitude, and the State Dining Room, which focuses on children.

Recipes provided by a small army of volunteer decorators adorn the mantelpiece of the China Room. Handwritten — apple crisps and pizzels (Italian cookies) — are family recipes shared by the First Lady.

Aides say she was inspired by the people she met while traveling around the country, as well as by the country’s founding documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

A copy of the Declaration of Independence is on display in the library, and the 300-pound (136-kilogram) gingerbread that always stands out at the White House this year includes a replica of the sugar cookie from Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the document was signed. It contains.

The executive pastry chef used 20 sugar cookie dough, 30 gingerbread dough, 100 pounds (45 kg) of pastilleage, 30 pounds (14 kg) of chocolate, and 40 pounds (18 kg) of royal icing. , gingerbread and sugar cookie masterpieces.

New to the White House collection this year is the Menorah, which is lit nightly during the eight-day Jewish festival of Hanukkah. A White House carpenter made a menorah out of wood saved from a Truman-era renovation and a sterling silver candle in his cup.

About 50,000 visitors are expected to pass through the White House over the holidays, including tourists and guests invited to about a month’s worth of receptions. Emmanuel Macronto meet the president Joe Biden He was honored at the Biden administration’s first state dinner, held at the White House on Thursday.

More than 150 volunteers, including two of the First Lady’s sisters, helped decorate the White House over the Thanksgiving long holiday weekend.

Decorations include over 83,000 twinkling lights on trees, garlands, wreaths, and other displays, 77 Christmas trees, and 25 wreaths on the exterior of the White House. Volunteers also used over 12,000 ornaments, just under 15,000 feet (4,500 meters) of ribbons, and over 1,600 bells.

Some of the decorations are do-it-yourself projects that the First Lady hopes people will be encouraged to recreate themselves. There is a tabletop Christmas tree made of lambkin.

Reflecting nature and recreation, the corners of the East Room are filled with groups of snow-covered trees, while each fireplace mantel features four views of the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah. It depicts the landscape of a national park.

In the Blue Room, the White House’s official Christmas tree — an 18 1/2-foot (5.6-meter) tall Conqueror fir from Auburn, Pennsylvania — unites and hopes with a handcrafted rendering of the official bird of all 57 regions. decorated to represent State and District of Columbia.

The State Dining Room is dedicated to the next generation of children, and its tree is adorned with self-portrait ornaments made by the 2021 Teachers of the Year students, and within the decor is the ‘Children’s Seeing Themselves’. ,” the White House said.

Hanging from the fireplace in the State Dining Room are the Biden family’s Christmas stockings.

“We the People” is once again celebrated in the Grand Foyer and Cross Hall on the State Floor, where the names of every state, territory and District of Columbia are engraved on metal ribbons.

as part of to cooperate, Jill Biden, a White House initiative to support military families, was joined by National Guard leaders and National Guard families across the country. her late son, Beau Bidenwas a Major in the Delaware State Army National Guard.

She said she wanted to meet with children from National Guard families before the event and hear their stories.

The White House said the holiday guidebooks handed out to visitors were designed by Dahlia Peoples, an African-American children’s book author who lives in Las Vegas. Peoples is a former elementary school teacher who has written and illustrated a series of picture books supporting children of color, including those who have experienced racial-based trauma.