National Christmas Tree

Baltimore's Children's Theater Association will be part of this year's Pageant for Peace, a 15-day celebration surrounding the lighting of the National Christmas Tree in Washington.The children's theater will perform "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," a C.S. Lewis play about a place where "it's always winter, but never Christmas," says Kevin Daly, the theater's managing director. The group will be performing this play, as part of its regular season, in schools and public performances beginning in late November.

A thin fragment of moon stood watch that Christmas Eve as the president of the United States and the prime minister of Great Britain came out onto the South Portico of the White House. They were there to light the national Christmas tree -- and to speak a holiday greeting to an uncertain world. Two and a half weeks earlier -- and 70 years ago last week -- the Japanese had devastated the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. A nation that had endured 12 grinding years of economic catastrophe was now plunged into a maelstrom of worldwide war. It was Christmas in time of turmoil, a season of brotherhood and peace under the shadow of genocide and war -- and it fell to these two men to help the nation and the world make sense of that.

PHILADELPHIA -- Mortified by what he calls Pennsylvania' callous treatment of the man who drove the national Christmas tree to Washington, state Rep. John Lawless says he wants to repay the $266 that a truck driver shelled out to get the tree off the Pennsylvania Turnpike.So, he said yesterday, he intends to dip into his campaign funds, find out the address of the Minnesota veterans' organization that already has reimbursed trucker Dick Willie and send the money to the club."I don't know what the ethics rule is on using campaign funds," he said.

Magician Eric Henning , of Laurel, will perform for VIPs during the ceremony to mark the lighting of the National Christmas Tree Dec. 1 on the Ellipse in Washington. Henning, a full-time professional magician and speaker, has performed at two pre-Inaugural candlelight dinners for President George W. Bush and at two Easter egg rolls for Laura Bush. Last year, he performed for the family of President Barack Obama at the White House Halloween party.

Until the very moment that the Rev. Dr. Deborah J. Johnson stepped to the microphone last night to bless the national Christmas tree, she had never spoken her prayer aloud.She had thought about it, of course. She had to. Thirty seconds she had been told, advised, reminded, warned. Thirty seconds, no more, no less.It wasn't the blessing's time-limit that concerned her, however. She thought about it long and hard because she thinks about all her prayers long and hard. This is a woman who truly knows the meaning of epiphany.

It may not have the height or celebrity of the Rockefeller Center tree in New York City, but the National Christmas Tree in Washington has something that the New York spruce doesn't. It's got the Washington Monument to its south, the White House to its north and a festive "Pathway of Peace" encircling it. Visitors can see the National Christmas Tree up-close now through Jan. 1 at the Ellipse during the annual "Christmas Pageant of Peace," which also features nightly live music or dance, except Dec. 24-25.

WASHINGTON - President Bush will be the host of holiday celebrations, but skip the over-the-top party season favored by his recent predecessors. Vice President Dick Cheney will throw a few bashes, but cancel if the Secret Service decides to send him to an undisclosed secure location. Tourists will see the White House decorations on television, but never in person. The public will be allowed to attend the lighting of the National Christmas Tree, but only after passing through metal detectors.

For more than four decades, viewing the holiday light display at the Hargrove house has been a Christmas tradition for thousands of Southern Maryland families. But last December, Earl C. Hargrove Jr. said he was decorating his Harwood farm for the last time. The Sept. 11 attacks prompted a change of heart. "We just felt that this wasn't a good year not to decorate," said Hargrove, whose company has decorated the National Christmas Tree since 1954. "I think people wanted to see what folks like us would do."

Here's the question of the season: Fir, pine or spruce?Americans will buy more than 32 million Christmas trees this season, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. The trees will cost $28 each, on average, with most purchased from retail lots, industry officials estimate.That means millions of consumers will once again become amateur foresters sorting through the various specimens of evergreens to choose the variety that is perfect for their home.But just what are the differences between a Scotch pine and a Colorado Blue spruce, other than geography?

A bit of Anne Arundel County is on the national Christmas tree at the White House this year.Among the 3,500 ornaments on the 18 1/2 -foot tree are 10 decorations made by architecture students from Anne Arundel Community College. Julie DeStefano and Jerry Sowder, architecture students from Annapolis, designed and made by hand nine wooden hearts, painted gold, for the Fraser fir that stands in the White House Blue Room.Elizabeth Emerson, an architecture major from Fort Meade, crocheted a three-dimensional cotton snowflake.

The holiday season is upon us. Why stay in this Christmas when there's so much to do? Quit roasting chestnuts and get old Jack Frost off your nose. Bundle up, pack your overnight bag and take a quick trip. We've found some of the best places in and around Maryland to tour, learn, shop, eat, play and more. Maryland Winterfest of Lights, through Jan.1, Ocean City . Board the Winterfest Express train and join in song with Christmas carols, while passing by spectacular lighted displays.

It may not have the height or celebrity of the Rockefeller Center tree in New York City, but the National Christmas Tree in Washington has something that the New York spruce doesn't. It's got the Washington Monument to its south, the White House to its north and a festive "Pathway of Peace" encircling it. Visitors can see the National Christmas Tree up-close now through Jan. 1 at the Ellipse during the annual "Christmas Pageant of Peace," which also features nightly live music or dance, except Dec. 24-25.

For more than four decades, viewing the holiday light display at the Hargrove house has been a Christmas tradition for thousands of Southern Maryland families. But last December, Earl C. Hargrove Jr. said he was decorating his Harwood farm for the last time. The Sept. 11 attacks prompted a change of heart. "We just felt that this wasn't a good year not to decorate," said Hargrove, whose company has decorated the National Christmas Tree since 1954. "I think people wanted to see what folks like us would do."

WASHINGTON - President Bush will be the host of holiday celebrations, but skip the over-the-top party season favored by his recent predecessors. Vice President Dick Cheney will throw a few bashes, but cancel if the Secret Service decides to send him to an undisclosed secure location. Tourists will see the White House decorations on television, but never in person. The public will be allowed to attend the lighting of the National Christmas Tree, but only after passing through metal detectors.

Here's the question of the season: Fir, pine or spruce?Americans will buy more than 32 million Christmas trees this season, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. The trees will cost $28 each, on average, with most purchased from retail lots, industry officials estimate.That means millions of consumers will once again become amateur foresters sorting through the various specimens of evergreens to choose the variety that is perfect for their home.But just what are the differences between a Scotch pine and a Colorado Blue spruce, other than geography?

Until the very moment that the Rev. Dr. Deborah J. Johnson stepped to the microphone last night to bless the national Christmas tree, she had never spoken her prayer aloud.She had thought about it, of course. She had to. Thirty seconds she had been told, advised, reminded, warned. Thirty seconds, no more, no less.It wasn't the blessing's time-limit that concerned her, however. She thought about it long and hard because she thinks about all her prayers long and hard. This is a woman who truly knows the meaning of epiphany.

A thin fragment of moon stood watch that Christmas Eve as the president of the United States and the prime minister of Great Britain came out onto the South Portico of the White House. They were there to light the national Christmas tree -- and to speak a holiday greeting to an uncertain world. Two and a half weeks earlier -- and 70 years ago last week -- the Japanese had devastated the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. A nation that had endured 12 grinding years of economic catastrophe was now plunged into a maelstrom of worldwide war. It was Christmas in time of turmoil, a season of brotherhood and peace under the shadow of genocide and war -- and it fell to these two men to help the nation and the world make sense of that.

The holiday season is upon us. Why stay in this Christmas when there's so much to do? Quit roasting chestnuts and get old Jack Frost off your nose. Bundle up, pack your overnight bag and take a quick trip. We've found some of the best places in and around Maryland to tour, learn, shop, eat, play and more. Maryland Winterfest of Lights, through Jan.1, Ocean City . Board the Winterfest Express train and join in song with Christmas carols, while passing by spectacular lighted displays.

A bit of Anne Arundel County is on the national Christmas tree at the White House this year.Among the 3,500 ornaments on the 18 1/2 -foot tree are 10 decorations made by architecture students from Anne Arundel Community College. Julie DeStefano and Jerry Sowder, architecture students from Annapolis, designed and made by hand nine wooden hearts, painted gold, for the Fraser fir that stands in the White House Blue Room.Elizabeth Emerson, an architecture major from Fort Meade, crocheted a three-dimensional cotton snowflake.

PHILADELPHIA -- Mortified by what he calls Pennsylvania' callous treatment of the man who drove the national Christmas tree to Washington, state Rep. John Lawless says he wants to repay the $266 that a truck driver shelled out to get the tree off the Pennsylvania Turnpike.So, he said yesterday, he intends to dip into his campaign funds, find out the address of the Minnesota veterans' organization that already has reimbursed trucker Dick Willie and send the money to the club."I don't know what the ethics rule is on using campaign funds," he said.