Bush Lauds Troops at Holiday Event

Lighting the national Christmas tree Thursday, President Bush urged American troops stationed far from home during the holidays to take comfort in the Christmas story and the fact that they had earned the gratitude of a nation.

“Separation from loved ones is especially difficult this time of year,” Bush said at the 80th annual “Pageant of Peace” ceremony on the Ellipse.

“People in uniform can know that their families miss them and love them, that millions are praying for them, and that America is grateful for the men and women who serve and defend our country.”

Before a crowd of thousands that included Iraq war wounded, Bush said the story of Christ’s birth and life can provide “a light than can guide us still.”

As a light snow fell, the president and First Lady Laura Bush flicked the switch that illuminated the 40-foot Colorado blue spruce.

As for the White House’s seasonal decor, it took 70,000 lights and many months of work to get the mansion ready for the 37,000 visitors expected during the holidays. Not to mention 19 Christmas trees, 660 feet of garlands, 245 wreaths, 125 pounds of chocolate, two antique sleighs, 251 bows and 45 volunteers.

The White House foyer was adorned with four giant nutcrackers; garlands of red, glitter-covered balls draped generously around doorways, sconces and mantles; and floor-to-ceiling “trees” made of poinsettias.

Throughout the mansion’s public rooms are replicas of characters from children’s stories.

The girls of “Little Women” sit atop one East Room mantle. Harry Potter and his Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry adorn another across the room. The “Goodnight Moon” room familiar to many modern parents can be seen through a gingerbread house window. Tea party participants from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” form the State Dining Room table’s centerpiece.

The books themselves are arrayed under the official White House Christmas tree, a Fraser fir from Wisconsin that brushes the Blue Room’s ceiling. On its branches hang dolls also depicting literary figures -- ornaments that were created in 1989 for the first Christmas that President Bush’s father was in the White House and borrowed by Laura Bush from his library.