Iconic DC landmark unveils first Christmas tree as part of push to revive holiday spirit

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FIRST ON FOX: The Kennedy Center will unveil its first-ever Christmas tree and lighting ceremony in December as the iconic cultural landmark under the Trump administration continues promoting Christmas-centered events and performances, Fox News Digital learned. 

The Kennedy Center, which serves as the national cultural center of the U.S. and located along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., will unveil what officials say is its first-ever Christmas tree with a lighting ceremony Dec. 17. 

"The Kennedy Center's inaugural Christmas Tree Lighting is a milestone for America's cultural center, one of Washington's premier holiday attractions," Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center's vice president of public relations, told Fox News Digital. "We are grateful to partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service to showcase a beautiful red spruce from the highest peaks of the Southern Appalachians and create new traditions for families and visitors this holiday season."

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The tree is a towering 18-foot red spruce donated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and harvested from the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in southern Virginia's Appalachian Mountains. 

The tree lighting ceremony invites families and other visitors to take part in the event, which will include Christmas entertainment and remarks from Kennedy Center leadership and special guests, Fox News Digital learned. 

"The ceremony will mark a historic moment for America's cultural center as it establishes a new holiday tradition in the nation's capital," the Kennedy Center said of the tree lighting ceremony in a press release provided to Fox News Digital.  

The Kennedy Center has long held Christmas events but has come under fire from President Donald Trump and the administration for previously hosting left-wing performances, such as drag shows, at the venue at other times in the calendar year. This year's schedule boasts a handful of Christmas events, including those focused on the birth of Jesus and other religious events, such as a Christmas concert including a live nativity. 

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"We are proud to present a meaningful, faith-filled experience for families to immerse themselves in the Christmas story at America's cultural center," Daravi told The Christian Post of the upcoming Christmas show. "Tis the season to create cherished memories and celebrate the sacred alongside the festive." 

Kennedy Center President and Ambassador Richard Grenell said early in his term as the cultural center's chief that the center would promote traditional and Christ-focused holiday events. 

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Grenell told Fox News Digital in February that he would help usher in the "Golden Age of the Arts" with a stack of performances that attract visitors as the Kennedy Center faces a persistent uphill battle to become profitable amid years of running in the red. 

"How crazy is it to think that we're going to celebrate Christ at Christmas with a big traditional production, to celebrate what we are all celebrating in the world during Christmastime, which is the birth of Christ?" Grenell said back in February while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference.