The National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony is celebrating 100 years in Washington, D.C.

This year’s National Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place on November 30. The annual event is held at Presidents Park outside the White House and includes a lineup of musical performances by popular artists, military bands, and national choirs. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will mark the beginning of the holiday season by lighting the National Christmas Tree.

And the public can enter a lottery to get free tickets to the tree lighting beginning on October 25. 

The lottery will open at 10 a.m. and close at 10 a..m. on November 1. To enter, visit recreation.gov when the lottery goes live and enter your information, or call 877-444-6777.

Winners will be notified on November 8; a recording of the event will air on CBS at 8 p.m. on December 12.

The first National Christmas tree lighting in Washington, D.C., was held by President Calvin Coolidge on Christmas Eve 1923. There had been other Christmas tree places at the U.S. Capitol and other locations, but this was the first tree dedicated to all of the people.

christmas tree with onlookers
Trees on the Pathway to Peace, Courtesy of National Park Service

If you want to visit the tree in person, the National Christmas tree display opens to the public on December 2. The display also includes the "Pathway to Peace," a gallery of 58 trees representing 56 states and territories, along with schools in the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education and the Department of Defense Education. Each tree is decorated with ornaments crafted by students from across the nation.

The National Christmas Tree at President’s Park is open daily through January 1, 2023. The lights go on at sunset and are turned off at 10 p.m. on weeknights and 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.