We’re having a white Christmas here in Washington, DC. It snowed last Thursday. While nothing like the major blizzard that we had shortly before Christmas last year, I wanted to take advantage of this snowfall as well. I really like the photos of the Capitol that I got last year, but none of them depict the Capitol Christmas Tree lit up brightly. So, on Friday, I managed to get out of the office to shoot the Capitol Christmas Tree.

Christmas at the Capitol (landscape) The annual Capitol Christmas Tree is a tradition that started in 1964. This year, the tree is a 67-foot Englemann spruce brought all the way from Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest. It is decorated with approximately 5,000 ornaments crafted by the people from across the State of Wyoming that reflect the theme of this year’s tree: “Wyoming: Forever West”. (Yes, I actually did some research before I took the photo—although primarily because I wanted to find out what time they turn the lights on and off, which incidentally is dusk till 11pm.) The tree is lit up with approximately 8,000 to 10,000 LED lights, which have an extremely long life span and are environmentally friendly.