National Christmas Tree
The Obamas lit the national Christmas tree last year, but it toppled in February of this year during a storm. The Obamas will light a new, smaller Christmas tree Thursday evening. Reuters

President Barack Obama and family will light the new national Christmas tree in Washington Thursday evening, according to the National Park Service.

The Obamas will light the new, much smaller tree on the Ellipse, continuing a presidential tradition of 89 years. The 47-year-old, 42-foot-high Colorado blue spruce which had been lit each year snapped at its base in February during a windstorm that hit Washington. The tree tumbled down, leading to a new national Christmas tree this year.

The new tree is 26-feet tall. It is from New Jersey.

On hand for Thursday evenings tree lighting ceremony will be television personality Carson Daily, who will host the event, with performances by Kermit the Frog, the Black Eyed Peas, Big Time Rush, Ellie Goulding and more.

The national tree lighting cermemony began in 1923 with President Calvin Coolidge, who lit 2,500 bulbs on a 48-foot balsam fir tree on Christmas Eve.

The theme for this year's tree ligthing ceremony is Shine, Give, Share.

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