Peter Schorsch
First Lady Jill Biden is unveiling her 2022 White House Holiday theme, entitled “We the People,” which includes a holiday message of unity and hope.
This year’s massive display will include 77 Christmas trees, a massive gingerbread White House, nearly 84,000 holiday lights and 25 classic wreaths, all assembled over the course of one week by more than 150 volunteers from across the country.
“As our country gathers for the holidays, traditions may vary, but our shared American values — a belief in possibility, optimism, and unity — endure season after season. For this year’s holidays at the White House, we hope to capture the spirit embodied in the very idea of America: We the People,” Biden said in a statement.
“During your visit to the People’s House, through rooms full of history and holiday décor, in the mirrored ornaments and reflective lights, our hope is that you feel at home and find yourself in the great story of America. May the promise of We the People light our path forward into the New Year and bring us together always.”
View images of the holiday displays here.
The East Wing will be sub-themed with honor and remembrance, including bells in the East Entrance symbolizing the unifying and healing power of music by welcoming guests with melodies and songs. The White House expects some 50,000 visitors this season.
Holiday greenery and red cardinals will line the columns and beams in the East Wing Lobby, with the cardinals symbolizing the belief by some that they represent the presence of lost loved ones. Christmas trees in the East Wing will include mirrored Gold Star trees inscribed with the names of fallen service members and honoring the men and women of the U.S. armed services who made the ultimate sacrifice, those who are missing and action and the families who carry on their legacies.
To add a sense of peace and tranquility, the East Colonnade will be lined with winter trees, handmade woodland animals and glowing lanterns.
The White House Library will offer aesthetics celebrating shared stories that bring individuals closer together, unfolding history and the world around us. The decor is inspired by literature, history and education and includes a copy of the Declaration of Independence.
In the Vermeil Room, often referred to as the Gold Room and used as a display room, for formal occasions and as a ladies sitting room, will celebrate kindness and gratitude. Decor includes wrapped presents in what the White House describes as “playful patterns of paper, spools of ribbon, and handmade gifts waiting to be discovered on a neighbor’s porch.” Illustrations of the Biden’s family pets — Commander and Willow — are also on display to remind visitors of the “gift of unconditional love.”
The room will also include boxes from Operation Gratitude, a nonprofit that provides care packages to deployed troops, first responders and military families.
The White House China Room, which displays china used by past presidents, celebrates food and tradition with mantel displays and Christmas trees adorned by wooden spoons, measuring cups, rolling pins and cookies. Other touches include well-worn recipe cards from volunteers.
The East Room, the largest room in the White House used for public receptions, ceremonies, bill signings and other memorable occasions, focuses decor on nature and recreation. It includes snowy trees in one corner, fireplace mantel displays and representations of four iconic national parks, including The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, the Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah National Park.
As it has every holiday season since 1967, the room will also include the Neapolitan crèche and its more than 40 figurines.
Used for small receptions and teas and one of three state parlors on the first Floor the White House, the Green Room will include sounds and songs, inspired by familiar carols that define the holiday season. Decorations include sleigh bells, hand bells and jingle bells.
Unity and hope are on display in the Blue Room, another state parlor on the first floor used for receiving lines and small dinners. It includes the centerpiece of the White House holiday season, an 18.5-foot Concolor Fir from Auburn, Pennsylvania, which stands floor to ceiling and fills the room.
The tree was presented by the Shealer Family of Evergreen Acres Christmas Tree Farm, which won the 2022 Grand Champion Grower award in the National Christmas Tree Association’s annual contest. Decorations will illustrate coordinating design that transforms the tree into a magnificent display of unity.
Other themes include faith and light in the Red Room; We the Children in the State Dining Room; the White House Menorah in Cross Hall; and A Celebration of We the People in the Grand Foyer.
The 2022 Gingerbread White House will be on display on the eagle pier table in the State Dining Room. It’s crafted with 20 sheets of sugar cookie dough, 30 sheets of gingerbread dough, 100 pounds of pastillage, 30 pounds of chocolate and 40 pounds of royal icing. The display also includes a sugar cookie replica of Independence Hall in Philadelphia where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were both signed.
Visitors will also receive a 2022 Holiday Guide Illustrator. Elementary School teacher and children’s book author and illustrator Daria Peoples, of Las Vegas, Nevada, created the artwork for this year’s guide.
Last year, the First Lady’s White House holiday theme was “Gifts from the Heart” and celebrated “faith, family, and friendship; a love of the arts, learning and nature; gratitude, service and community; unity and peace,” according to last season’s holiday guide.
