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(Christmas Cards Printing)WASHINGTON — Surrounded by celebrity performers and characters from the North Pole, the Obama family led a countdown and lighted the National Christmas Tree on Thursday. First lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha helped President Barack Obama press a button to light the tree, an annual tradition since the 1920s. "I am technologically challenged, and I might not get this right," the president joked. "Everybody has got to help me out here." The Obamas and the spectators counted down from five, and the red and yellow lights came alive on the 40-foot Colorado blue spruce growing on the Ellipse, just south of the White House. "It worked," Obama shouted. Every president has presided over the tree lighting since Calvin Coolidge in 1923. The current National Christmas Tree was planted on the Ellipse in 1978. — The Associated Press |
