A North Carolina Tree For The White House

Hillary Clinton welcomes 18-and-a-half-foot Christmas tree

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Nov. 26) -- First lady Hillary Clinton kicked off the holiday season today, welcoming the official White House Christmas tree as it arrived on the South Lawn.

The Fraser fir is 18-and-a-half feet tall and was grown at the Grouse Ridge Tree Farm in Grassy Creek, N.C. The tree will be placed in the Blue Room of the White House and decorated by what Mrs. Clinton described as an "army" of volunteers.

Mrs. Clinton said the Clintons won't get their private tree until closer to Christmas.

When asked what the Clinton family would have for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, Hillary said they would be eating "what I've eaten every year as long as I can remember." She listed some of the dishes, including turkey, stuffing, cranberries, mashed potatoes, vegetables and pie -- pumpkin, mincemeat and apple.

In another holiday gesture, President Bill Clinton has given federal workers the day after Christmas off, ordering the federal government to close Dec. 26. Christmas falls on a Thursday this year and because of Clinton's act, workers will get a four-day holiday.

In Other News:

Wednesday Nov. 26, 1997

• Cohen Intervened To Allow Arlington Burial
• Gratitude With Attitude: An AllPolitics Thanksgiving
• White House Bird Spared The Ax
• Reno Hospitalized In Mexico City
• A North Carolina Tree For The White House
• President Clinton's 1997 Thanksgiving Proclamation