Kennedy Center unveils first-ever Christmas tree, lighting ceremony

FIRST ON FOX: The Kennedy Center will unveil its first-ever Christmas tree and lighting ceremony in December, as the iconic cultural landmark under the Trump administration continues to promote Christmas-centric events and performances, Fox News Digital has learned.

The Kennedy Center, which serves as the national cultural center of the United States and is located along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., will unveil what officials say is its first-ever Christmas tree with a lighting ceremony on December 17.

“The inaugural lighting of the Kennedy Center Christmas tree is an important milestone for America’s cultural hub, one of Washington’s premier holiday attractions,” Roma Daravi, Kennedy Center vice president of public relations, told Fox News Digital. “We are grateful to partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service to showcase beautiful red spruce from the highest peaks of the Southern Appalachians and create new traditions for families and visitors this holiday season.”

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The Kennedy Center has announced what officials say will be the first lighting of the cultural center’s Christmas tree on December 17, 2025. (Richard Perrin/AFP/Getty Images)

The tree is a towering 18-foot red spruce donated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and harvested from the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in the Appalachian Mountains of southern Virginia.

The tree lighting ceremony invites families and other visitors to participate in the event, which will include holiday entertainment and remarks from Kennedy Center leadership and special guests, Fox News Digital has learned.

“The ceremony will mark a historic moment for America’s cultural center as it establishes a new holiday tradition in the nation’s capital,” the Kennedy Center said of the tree lighting ceremony in a press release provided to Fox News Digital.

The Kennedy Center has long hosted Christmas events, but it has been criticized by President Donald Trump and the administration for already hosting left-wing entertainment, such as drag shows, on site at other times of the calendar year. This year’s schedule includes a handful of Christmas events, including those focused on the birth of Jesus and other religious events, such as a Christmas concert featuring a living nativity scene.

The Kennedy Center is seen on a snowy night in Washington, DC on February 11, 2025. (Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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“We are proud to present a meaningful, faith-filled experience for families to immerse themselves in the story of Christmas at the American Cultural Center,” Daravi told The Christian Post of the upcoming Christmas pageant. “Tis the season for creating treasured memories and celebrating the sacred alongside the festive.”

Kennedy Center President and Ambassador Richard Grenell said early in his tenure as head of the cultural center that the center would promote traditional and Christ-centered holiday events.

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Grenell told Fox News Digital in February of this year that he would help usher in the “golden age of the arts” with a series of shows that attract visitors as the Kennedy Center faces an uphill and persistent battle to become profitable amid years of deficits.

Ric Grenell, former Acting Director of National Intelligence, speaks on the third day of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, July 17, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Segar)

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“Is it crazy to think that we are going to celebrate Christ at Christmas with a big traditional production, to celebrate what we all celebrate around the world during the Christmas period, which is the birth of Christ?” Grenell said in February while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference.