Former President Jimmy Carter Honored with White House Holiday Ornament

Former President Carter

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will be honored with a special Christmas ornament this year, the White House Historical Association announced this week. The nation's 39th president, Carter, age 99, is the first living president to be honored by the Association with such an ornament.

Founded by former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961, the White House Historical Association has been creating and releasing official White House ornaments each year since 1981. The ornaments celebrate the history of the White House and the presidents who serve there. Sale of the ornaments help fund the Association, which raises money from private sources to maintain the White House and its furnishings.

The release of the 2024 ornament honoring Carter is detailed in the following video:

2024 Holiday Ornament

While the first several annual ornaments marked White House holiday traditions in general, the Association eventually established the  practice of honoring each former president with their own design. These have been done chronologically, and in 2024 it happens happens to be President Carter's turn. 

Elected in 1976, Carter served one term in office and served from 1977-81. Carter served during a particularly challenging time and faced a variety of difficult issues including a worldwide energy crisis, high inflation, a declining economy and the takeover of the American embassy in Tehran by militant Iranian students. Since leaving office 43 years ago, Carter has dedicated himself to a variety of worthy causes and is respected by people across the political spectrum for his selflessness and commitment. His wife, Rosalynn, died this past November, and Carter himself is currently in hospice care in his home in Plains, Georgia. 

The White House Historical Association featured the annual ornaments tradition in its The 1600 Sessions podcast two years ago, as you can see in the following video:

History will likely not record Jimmy Carter's presidency as an unqualified success, but President Carter will almost certainly be remembered as an honorable and principled man who dedicated his life to serving others and making this world a better and more just place for all.  

Read Jimmy Carter's official White House biography

Visit the White House Historical Association Website

White House Celebrates a Childhood Christmas

 

Nation's First Family Celebrates the Holiday Season and Its Many Gifts from the Heart

Each year at Christmas, the nation's First Family traditionally kicks off the holiday season by decorating the White House, circulating their official holiday card and lighting the national Christmas tree. These ceremonial duties become even more important in difficult times, and President and Dr. Biden are giving this work the attention and sincerity it deserves.

The theme of this year's celebration is "Gifts from the Heart," which was "[i]nspired by the small acts of kindness and experiences that lifted our spirits this year and throughout the pandemic[.]" Different rooms at the White House have been decorated to highlight such gifts, including: faith, community, peace, the arts and gratitude. 

The White House website offers a wonderful look at this year's decorations, including a virtual walking tour of the public areas of the mansion. It's nice to see the holiday season celebrated in style at the White House this year!

Download a copy of this year's White House Holiday Guide

Review the White House Christmas Cards of the past 92 years — from Coolidge to Trump

President Obama Has a Christmas Song He'd Like to Sing for All of Us

Our First Family Sends Out Their Final White House Christmas Card

As a history buff and avid reader about all things presidential, I'm always interested in seeing the White House Christmas card each year. Well, President Obama and his family released their 2016 holiday card last week, and naturally it's become the subject of a lot of discussion. Why? Because it features a family picture rather than a more general depiction of the White House in winter.

It is believed that President Calvin Coolidge was the first president to commission a holiday card back in 1927. Since then, there's been an official White House card every year. The styles vary widely, of course depending on a host of factors. Interestingly enough, the Obamas are on the third presidential family to feature a picture of themselves on the card. President and Mrs. Franklin Roosevelt featured family pictures at least half a dozen times. Oddly enough, while the Roosevelts typically signed their cards as "The President and Mrs. Roosevelt," there were two years (1936 and 1941) in which the White House card came from "Mrs. Franklin Delano Roosevelt," with no mention of the President at all.

The only other White House card to feature a picture of the current occupants was the first card sent by President and Mrs. Hillary Clinton in 1993. Truth be told, it wasn't a particularly good picture of the Clintons, although it certainly looked better than any of the grim portraits of the Roosevelts. But it can't hold a candle to the photograph on this year's card, which captures the class, grace and poise the current First Family brought to the White House.

This year's card includes the following message:

"As our family reflects on our many happy years spent in the White House, we are grateful for the friends we've made, the joy we've shared, and the gifts of kindness we've received.

"We wish you and your loved ones a joyous holiday season and a wonderful new year."

I've got a feeling that the new year's going to become mighty horrifying real quick beginning on Inauguration Day.

See the Official White House Christmas Cards of the 15 Most Recent Presidents

The Obamas Light the National Christmas Tree for the Final Time

President Obama and his treasonous army of Kenyan-born socialists apparently called a truce in their shameful War on Christmas Thursday evening in order to allow the President to light the National Christmas Tree:




Of all the hateful lies perpetrated against President Obama, the charge that he's anti-Christmas is among the most preposterous. This year marks the eighth Christmas the Obamas have celebrated in the White House, and they sure seem to be animated by the holiday spirit each and every time. If you want to get real about things, using federal resources to celebrate Jesus's birth would seem to be a clear violation of the Establishment Clause in our Constitution's First Amendment. If the price for this violation involves replacing seven of ten "Merry Christmas" greetings with "Happy Holidays," I'm not sure that amounts to a "war" on Christmas in any sense of the word. Merry Christmas to the Obama Family, who have maintained the various White House holiday traditions and done us all proud.

See the Entire 2016 National Tree Lighting Ceremony

Preview the White House Holiday Decorations for 2016

Christmas in Full Gear at the White House

With Christmas just a little more than a week away, our elected officials in Washington are scrambling to wrap things up and get out of town. Sadly, more than a few of them will be coming back in January. At 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, however, the holiday spirit lingers in the air, for regardless of what party holds power, the White House has long been ground zero for our nation's Christmas celebration. This year's theme is "A Winter Wonderland," which attempts to capture the magic of the holidays through the eyes of its youngest citizens.

First Lady Michelle Obama kicked things off on Wednesday, December 3, with preview event that included some last-minute decorating and cookie-making by area children and their families. The First Lady truly shines in settings such as this, and I enjoyed listening to her describe the hard work involved in preparing the White House for the 65,000 guests expected to visit during the holidays:



The following evening, the First Family officiated at the ceremonial lighting of the National Christmas Tree. The video below opens with the actual tree-lighting, followed by an unspeakably grim recitation of A Visit from St. Nicholas (starting at 0:44) and (beginning at 4:05) some appropriate remarks from the President:




Late last week, the 2014 White House holiday card was officially unveiled. Designed by Connecticut artist Emily Buchanan, it features a view of the White House foyer, with first dogs Bo and Sunny patiently standing by:

2014 White House Holiday Card

I can't say I'm wild about this picture myself. It strikes me as cold, formal and austere.  (I much prefer the Obamas' card from 2011.) I do like the idea of including the dogs, however; and I like how the floor seems to slope downward toward the viewer like one of those two-dimensional depictions of the space-time continuum. (Perhaps there's a hidden meaning of some sort buried in this year's card? Damn the illuminati and their subtlety!)

For more information about this year's holiday-related activities at the White House, check out the Inside the White House Holidays 2014 web page, where you'll find downloadable do-it-yourself crafts, the 2014 Holiday Tour Book, and even the White House recipe for gingerbread cookies!

Watch What Happens when President Obama Drops In on a White House Christmas Tour

Comedian and game show host Steve Harvey visited the White House last December for a sit-down with President Obama during which he had an interesting idea. He suggested to the President that the two of them drop in unannounced on one of the regular White House tours to offer holiday greetings to the participating tourists. Well, the results were not only spirited, but extremely touching, too, as this short video demonstrates:

Nixon's Christmas Morning Call to LBJ in 1971

There's no music in today's clip, but it's a rather fascinating piece of audio nevertheless. This is a recording of a short phone call from President Richard Nixon in the White House to former President Johnson on his Texas ranch on Christmas Day 1971. Johnson sounds like he's having a terrific time with his family, as he's laughing and talks about being surrounded by toys. Nixon, on the other hand, sounds about as awkward and ill-at-ease as ever. Mrs. Nixon is apparently elsewhere. Lady Bird Johnson's mention of Mrs. Eisenhower suggests that she may have been spending the holidays at the White House. Former President Eisenhower died two years earlier, and, of course, her grandson, David, was married to Nixon's youngest daughter, Julie. Things would slide downhill rather quickly for both men after this. Johnson's health declined rapidly in 1972 and he suffered a fatal heart attack in January 1973. Nixon visited China and won re-election in 1972, but the Watergate break-in took place in June, and by early 1973, his administration had begun to unravel. Give this tape a listen. It's not often that we get to listen to them instead of the other way around. (Apologies for the volume on the Texas side of the call. You have to turn the volume up pretty high to hear President Johnson, although Nixon comes through loud and clear. I guess he's got more experience with taping devices than most other presidents.)

White House Circulates Its First Official Pop-Up Christmas Card

New York magazine is reporting that the White House has gone 3D this Christmas by circulating its first holiday pop-up card. According to a photograph posted on the magazine's website earlier today, the presidential card features a three-dimensional representation of the White House and the First Family's two dogs:  Sunny and Bo. The two dogs have also "signed" the card, along with the President and Mrs. Obama, and their two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

2013 White House Christmas Card

Few other serious publications seem to have reported anything about this year's card as of Monday evening, which seems odd to me. In recent years, the unveiling of the annual card receives widespread if routine coverage, followed by a barrage of critical comments by the President's political opponents. Is nothing sacred?

Rain-Soaked Washington Crowd Witnesses Lighting of the National Christmas Tree

Continuing a tradition launched 90 years ago by President Calvin Coolidge, President Obama and his family joined actress Jane Lynch and thousands of spirited citizens Friday evening for the traditional lighting of the National Christmas Tree. This annual ceremony takes place each year place on the Ellipse in our nation's capital, between the White House and the Washington Monument. This is the second year that the current tree has been used for the ceremony. It replaces a 42' Colorado blue spruce that was transplanted to the Ellipse in 1978, but had to be removed two years ago after sustaining serious damage in a severe wind storm. 

First Family Lights National Christmas Tree

Bo Inspects the White House Decorations

Happy Holidays from the White House

The inviting fireside scene pictured above appears on this year's official White House holiday card, and, yes, that's the "first dog," Bo, enjoying the fire's warmth. In recent days, certain political figures and so-called "news" outlets have criticized the card because it wishes recipients "happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," depicts a poinsettia instead of a Christmas tree, and features a family pet "instead of traditions like 'family, faith and freedom.'" It's tempting to fire back against such ridiculous attacks, especially when the card circulated this year by the outraged "news" entity in question not only doesn't mention Christmas but features two cartoon characters killing the mascot of a competing business. However, this is not the season for that kind of nonsense. Rather, this is a time when we should celebrate this country's true religious heritage, which is based on tolerance, freedom and respect for the sanctity of individual conscience on matters of faith. In that spirit, I'm posting pictures below of some of the White House cards from years gone by. Does anyone really think that this year's card falls outside the norm?

2010

2005

2004

2003

1998

1990

1984

1983

1978

1966

The true spirit of Christmas is imbued with a genuine desire for peace and compassion for one another, regardless of background or beliefs. Part of the power and beauty of holiday music is that so much of it serves to underscore this simple message -- perhaps none more so than the stunningly beautiful "Dona Nobis Pacem." Listen HERE.