President Who Banned the White House Christmas Tree

                             

Looking at all the Christmas tree lots in Northwest Ohio reminds me of the festive White House Christmas celebration, an annual occasion. The official White House tree is installed in the Blue Room and formally welcomed by the First Lady, a tradition that began in 1912.  Down through the years, First Ladies have developed their own personal holiday themes. Some first families even decorated every room in the White House with a Christmas tree.

But in 1902, President Teddy Roosevelt announced, “There would be no tree in the White House.” During the 19^th century, many homes did not celebrate Christmas with a decorated evergreen. Some believed it to be a pagan symbol, but eventually the German custom of a having a live tree during the holidays grew in popularity. But President Roosevelt, a devoted conservationist, was opposed to it. He said his family of six children would celebrate Christmas as “simply as possible.”

Teddy and Family

Courtesy of Wikimedia

Deeply concerned about America’s natural resources, Roosevelt created the Forestry Service and established 150 national forests, 51 bird reserves, five national parks, and four game preserves. The “Chicago Daily Tribune” agreed with the President. The paper dubbed it a “forestry fad.” Environmentalists harped against the “Christmas tree habit” that caused “immense destruction of young firs and spruce.”

But Archie and Quentin, Teddy Roosevelt’s two youngest sons, were having none of it.  They slipped outside and cut down a small evergreen right on the White House grounds. They sneaked it inside and hid it in a closet. With the help of one of the staff, they fitted it out with lights.  They decorated the tree with small presents for every family member. Archie even included gifts for Jack the dog, Tom Quartz the kitten, and his pony Algonquin.

Early Christmas morning, even before they opened their own gifts, Archie escorted his parents to the big closet. He swung open the door, revealing with delight his White House Christmas tree, laden with presents and lights. It was his gift to his parents. The President wrote later that it was Archie’s “surprise” and he was pleased with his son’s ingenuity.

Ladies Home Journal, 1902

One source tells that Teddy took his young son to visit Gifford Pinchot, head of the Forestry Service, to explain to Archie the damage to America’s forests that occurs when so many trees are chopped down for Christmas. But the President was taken aback when Pinchot explained that cutting down some of the larger trees was actually a good thing. The practice allowed sunlight to reach the smaller, young trees which could then flourish.

At Christmas in 1906, the President wrote to his sister that Archie was again at work. This time he was placing a tree in his bedroom. While Archie showed off his creation to his parents, the older children sneaked a fully-lit tree with two huge stockings into the bedroom of the President and First Lady. Eventually the controversy over using live trees to decorate for the holidays ended. It was just a few years later when President Calvin Coolidge hosted the first public Christmas tree lighting at the White House.

A version of this post appears in Lifestyles 2000