A Traditional Holiday Look for This White House

 

Thursday night, United States President Donald Trump¹ and his wife Melania will light America’s national Christmas tree in a park near the White House. A crowd will gather around the tree for the lighting² ceremony.

Many Americans also are planning to visit the White House in the coming weeks to see its decorations for the holiday season.

“The decorations are up!” Melania Trump tweeted Monday morning. “@WhiteHouse is ready to celebrate! Wishing you a Merry Christmas & joyous³ holiday season!”

The theme for the White House decorations this year is “Time-Honored Traditions.”

Traditional Christmas wreaths⁶ are hanging outside every window of the White House, the official home of presidents, in Washington, D.C. On top of each wreath⁵ is a bright red bow.

Inside the building, visitors find a hallway lined with long, snow-white tree branches and shining lights. That hall leads to a tree with the Trump family’s official Christmas ornament⁷. The gold-colored metal decoration shows the presidential coat of arms surrounded by a wreath of holly⁸.

On Monday, first lady Melania Trump welcomed students from a military base in Maryland to see the White House. They also got to make a few holiday decorations with her.

“Are you the first lady?” asked one little boy, who then moved in for a hug. Classmates quickly followed for hugs of their own.

Ballet dancers performed at the White House as part of the official start of the holiday season. The first lady wore a white dress and gold-toned shoes for the event.

The dancers looked similar to those at the first themed Christmas at the White House in 1961. At that time, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy had dancers performing to Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s famous “Nutcracker Suite⁹.”

“Surprise,” Melania Trump said on Tuesday, as she later entered the Red Room, where children were working on Christmas decorations.

“So you want to show me how to do it?” she asked after sitting at a table with four students. A boy showed her how to make them.

Nearby was the Trump family Christmas card, along with cards from past presidents.

“Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,” says the Trumps¹⁰' card, signed by the president, the first lady and Barron Trump, their 11-year-old son.

That greeting is a change from the years when Barack Obama and his family were living in the White House. During his presidency¹¹, the cards offered more inclusive¹² messages, such as “Season’s Greetings” or wishes for happy holidays.

Donald Trump has promised to put “Christmas” back at the center of the winter holidays. During his presidential campaign, he argued that saying “Happy Holidays” was a way of “chipping away at Christianity.”

Among the Christmas decorations this year is a 5.5-by-1.8-meter Balsam fir from Wisconsin. The tree occupies the center of the White House’s Blue Room. Decorations representing every state and U.S. territory hang from its branches.

A separate tree near the East Wing entrance honors¹³ military families who have lost loved ones.

In the State Dining Room, a 160-kilogram gingerbread house offers a view of the White House from its South Lawn¹⁴. Candy-covered wreaths hang from every window and a U.S. flag flies from its sugary housetop.

Jennifer Pickens, an expert on White House traditions, predicted that this year's window wreaths will become a tradition for future first ladies.

More than 150 volunteers from 29 states spent 1,600 hours over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend getting the White House ready for the holidays. The White House said Melania Trump chose every detail of the design.

The holiday celebrations began Monday with a party for the volunteers. Parties and other events — sometimes two a day — will continue for the next several weeks.

More than 25,000 people are expected to visit the White House over the next few weeks. Plenty of food is ready and waiting for them. Workers have baked 31,000 cookies, including 15,000 sugar cookies. Many of those are expected to go home with visitors.

I'm Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

decoration - n.something that is added to something else to make it more attractive

wreath - n. an arrangement of leaves or flowers in the shape of a circle that is worn or placed as a sign of honor⁴ or victory

ornament - n. a small, fancy¹⁵ object that is put on something else to make it more attractive

bow - n. a knot¹⁶ that is made by tying a ribbon or string into two or more loops¹⁷ and that is used for tying shoelaces or for decoration

hug - n. the act of putting your arms around someone or something as a way of showing love or friendship

chipping away - expression to slowly make something weaker, smaller, or less effective.

gingerbread - n. a cake or cookie made with molasses and ginger — often used before another noun

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

3 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

4 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

5 wreath   

n.花环，花圈，花冠

参考例句：

• She is weaving the flowers into a wreath.她把花编成花环。
• She made a wreath for head.她编了一个花冠。

6 wreaths   

n.花环( wreath的名词复数 )；花圈；（烟、云等的）圈状物；环状物

参考例句：

• Wreaths were laid at the martyr's tomb. 烈士墓前安放着花圈。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Wreaths are woven of wool, feathers, or even human hair. 还有人将羊毛、羽毛、甚至头发编织成花环。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗

7 ornament   

v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物

参考例句：

• The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。
• She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。

8 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

9 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

10 trumps   

abbr.trumpets 喇叭；小号；喇叭形状的东西；喇叭筒v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的过去式 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造

参考例句：

• On the day of the match the team turned up trumps. 比赛那天该队出乎意料地获得胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Every time John is late getting home he trumps up some new excuse. 每次约翰晚回家都会编造个新借口。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

12 inclusive   

adj.(of)包括的，包含的；范围广的

参考例句：

• The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging.账单包括吃、住费用。
• It's an all inclusive price;there is nothing extra to pay.这是一个包罗一切的价格，不需再额外付款了。

13 honors   

n.礼仪；荣典；礼节； 大学荣誉学位；大学优等成绩；尊敬( honor的名词复数 )；敬意；荣誉；光荣

参考例句：

• He aims at honors. 他力求名誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We did the last honors to his remains. 我们向他的遗体告别。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 lawn   

n.草地，草坪，上等细麻布

参考例句：

• The lawn was crawling with ants.草坪上爬满了蚂蚁。
• They are lying on a grassy lawn.他们躺在绿草如茵的草坪上。

15 fancy   

n.想像力，幻想；喜好，爱；adj.想像的，时髦的，华丽装饰的，奢侈的；技巧的；vt.想象，自认为，喜好

参考例句：

• He seemed to have taken quite a fancy to her.他似乎相当喜欢她。
• I have a fancy that it's going to rain.我想大概要下雨。

16 knot   

n.结，难题，一小群；vi.打结；vt. 把...打成结，系牢，捆扎

参考例句：

• He made a knot in the rope.他在绳子上打了个结。
• The knot has come untied.扣儿开了。

17 loops   

圈( loop的名词复数 )； 环； 回路； 循环

参考例句：

• The wire threaded through small loops. 金属丝穿过许多小环。
• The brook loops around the farm. 小河绕农场流过。