U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Begins Journey from California Forest this Weekend
A tribal elder from the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians will bless the tree before it is cut and loaded onto a truck for 4,500-mile, 20-day tour that includes stops in 12 cities from Sacramento to Los Angeles before the tree begins its national tour
SONORA, Calif. (November 1, 2011) -- When the sun rises over the chilly peaks of the Sierra Nevada on Saturday, a tribal elder from the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians will bless the giant Sierra white fir that will eventually be erected in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. as the nation’s Christmas tree.
And once it’s cut, the 65-foot tree will be loaded onto a truck for a 20-day tour that includes stops in big cities, small towns and military bases across the country so that Americans from all walks of life can see “The People’s Tree” before it’s set up in front of the U.S. Capitol.
“For the next couple of months, this majestic white fir from the Stanislaus National Forest will be one of the most photographed trees in the world,” said Maria Benech, coordinator of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. “It will stand in front of our Capitol, illuminated with 10,000 lights and nearly 3,000 handmade ornaments as a gift from California and an internationally recognized symbol of the holiday season.”
http://somd.com/news/headlines/2011/14510.shtmlA little late, but the tree is still on the road :)