WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Park Service says the new National Christmas Tree will be planted at the Ellipse near the White House this weekend.
The park service says the 26-foot-tall Colorado blue spruce from a New Jersey nursery will be planted Saturday.
Strong winds topped the tree's predecessor in February. That blue spruce had stood on the Ellipse since 1978.
The park service says the tradition dates to 1923 when President Calvin Coolidge held the first of what have become annual National Christmas tree lightings. The tree has been located in different areas since then, but since 1973 has been in the same site in the northeast part of the Ellipse.
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