[captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> good evening and welcome to the christmas tree lighting ceremony. i am the architect of the capital and i am honored to be your master of ceremonies as we carry out this wonderful tradition which began right here in 1964. i asked you remain in your seats until the conclusion of the ceremony. each year, i look forward to this event to kickoff a holiday season on capitol hill. nothing says christmas more than the playing of festive holiday karos. -- carols. i would like to expand and thank you to the army band under the direction of caption richards for being here and helping us

create such a festive mood on a rainy evening. [applause] >> behind me stands the united states capitol christmas tree. a wonderful, 65 foot sierra from the national forest in the great state of california. [applause] in keeping with tradition, the speaker of the house, john boehner, will extend his greetings to you and officially like this tree in just a few moments. before we get to that moment, i would like to extend a welcome to members of congress, and guests, our neighbors, and those of you here visiting the nation's capital.

thank you for joining us this evening. i would like to acknowledge the members from the california delegation joining us, including dianne feinstein, [applause] this incredible tree has been decorated with more than 3000 ornaments by golden state residents which reflects the theme, calif. shines. it is quite fitting that this comes from the great state of california. for more than 40 years the forest service and the architect of the capital has partnered to bring a christmas tree to the capital from one of the nation's national forests.

they compromised forcing grassland in the united states. let's take a moment to thank the dedicated for service here in washington ending california for helping make this event possible. [applause] joining us tonight is the chief of the u.s. forest service. he has a holiday message to share with all of you. [applause] >> thank you. i will take credit for the rain letting up and the gang -- and the folks from california for sending us this nice weather. this is a tremendous honor to be part of this every year. as was mentioned, all the effort that goes into this, this is a collaborative effort.

working with the community to come together to put to the time and effort into this. it is not just the tree or the ornaments their decorating. it is the message that history is a model for. it is a message about people working together in a collaborative effort to do something larger than a tree. if you think about the thousands of hours of volunteer time mystery represents. the effort folks put into the fund raising and also the food drive. that is part of this overall offered. i want to thank everyone from

california, the forest service said this part of the service. it is an honor to be part of it. thank you for letting us be part of your christmas. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, tom. this tree has been on a tremendous journey. it has traveled to nearly 4,500 miles from california. nine days ago it arrived here in our dedicated grounds crew went to work decorating it. they did a fantastic job. let's give them a round of applause. [applause] our ground superintendent who have the task of fixing -- picking mystery out of the many beautiful trees available for him in the forest. next, it is my honor to

introduce diane feinstein. she has been serving the people of california since 1992. i have had the pleasure of working with her in 2009 as she served up a chair of the joint congressional committee. [applause] >> thank you. john boehner, members of congress, ladies and gentlemen, it is great to be here to see this tree. i would call it slim and narrow. however, i must tell you that when it was harvested it was 118 years old and 108 feet tall. it is now 65 feet tall and

weighs, believe it or not, at 8,300 pounds. it has come across the united states through a number of communities and it comes from the great national forest. this is a 900,000 acre, in northern california. three hours north of san francisco. it is the home of the bald eagle. today, we have students from that area. i want to recognize johnny crawford, who is a student from sonora. it is minder standing he will be joining you in quieting the tree. that is very special. we also have the somerville high school choir from california who will play some holiday music for us. i want to say this is a bit of

california here and i hope everybody understands it. mr. speaker, i am and appropriators. the other day -- the staff director on our side told me he proposed to his wife at this tree at the tree lighting ceremony. it has special significance. thank you and welcome. [applause] ♪ joy to the world

let every heart prepare him room and heaven and angels sing joy to the world let man his song employ repeat the sounding joy repeat, repeat the sounding joy he rules the world ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year it's the happ, happiest season of all stories be scary ghost and tales of the glories of christmases

long, long ago ofs the most wonderful time the year there be much miseltoeing and hearts will be glowing ofs the most wonderful time the year ♪ [applause] ♪ rock, rock, rock around the christmas tree ♪ ♪

♪ you will get a sentimental feeling let's be joylly, deck the halls with boughs of holly every one's dancing merrily in a new old fashioned way ♪ ♪ rocking around the christmas tree

have a happy holiday everyone's dancing merrily in a new old fashioned way ♪ [applause] >> under the direction of madeline young, another round of applause. [applause] now it is my pleasure to introduce daniel from the third congressional district of california. [applause]

>> i love this place. i think if you do not get a chill when you come to this fine it is time to leave. every time i go home bioassay that true americana is one we are home and see the folks back home. today is the best of all possible worlds. we have home with us here, those great students doing a great job. there are three from our home state of california which i might remind you, those of you from the east, our state is owned 45% by the federal government. it is nice to bring part of a government back with you. i represent one county that is 96% owned by the federal government with three national forests. we are proud of that part of our state of california and the

fact that this street took a 4,200 mile trip to be here representing us and the nation as this -- at this christmas tree. god bless all of you and let's have a great celebration here at our nation's capital. >> next, from the 19th and district of california, jeff. >> it is an honor to have the tree come from the congressional district in california and sherry part of california with the rest of the nation and the world. this was made possible by a partnership with the indians who helped us bring the tree here also celebrating across

the nation. we did sioux tribes, and then again throughout the nation. having acquired here and being able to raise money within our community to pay for the expense of having them come, welcome. we appreciate you being here. it has been an exciting prospect -- process to be part of the planning of this. natalie the festivities but it hit home on the tree arrived. we had press from around the world. the significance of being able to celebrate the religious holiday because of our freedoms was overwhelming. i want to thank you, mr. speaker, for having it come

from california. >> thank you. now, it is my privilege to introduce the speaker of the house, john boehner. he has served the people of ohio since 1990 and has held numerous leadership positions. he became the 53rd speaker of the house. the honorable john boehner. [applause] >> let me say thank you. i'm going to thank all of my colleagues and all of the year who have come out here on this evening to help celebrate the lighting of the christmas tree. it makes a worthy addition to this tradition of hours. the christmas tree forces as a symbol of everlasting life.

that life is christ. whose birth promises joy and salvation. the angels broke the silence by singing glory to god in the highest and peace, goodwill toward men. we have -- we serve this story by serving one another. it is better to give than receive when so many of our fellow citizens are without jobs and are in need. christmas is not a distant historical event. it is a spirit that brings us closer to each other and closer to the peace of which the angels saying. on behalf of our family, i want to wish all of you a merry christmas.

[applause] >> now we're going to do what we came here to do, light the tree. to help in the honors this is a 7-year-old from california. he is a cub scout. if something goes wrong, he will figure this out. he is here with his parents, lisa and richard. his older brother and a little sister. how about a round of applause. [applause] >> this is the big switch. how about a countdown. don't push it yet. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 -- [applause] 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 -- [applause]