Snow blanketed Washington on Wednesday, as if on cue, setting the stage for the lighting ceremony for this year’s Capitol Christmas Tree. The 55-foot balsam fir harvested from the Green Mountain National Forest stands on a Capitol Hill slope overlooking the National Mall and the Washington Monument. Highlighting the lighting ceremony: the Mount Anthony Union High School Chamber Singers from Bennington, and Bradley Young, a 6th grade student from Randolph Elementary, joining House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in flipping a switch to light the tree.

House Speaker John McCormack began the tradition of the Capitol Christmas Tree in 1964. The first was a live Douglas fir planted on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol. Since 1970, the tree has come from one of the nation’s national forests. The Capitol Christmas Tree is not to be confused with the National Christmas Tree, which is planned near the White House and is lit by the President and the First Lady.