👓 Think Melania’s red forest is kooky? Consider the Christmas tree once hidden in a White House closet. | Washington Post

Read Think Melania’s red forest is kooky? Consider the Christmas tree once hidden in a White House closet. (Washington Post)

President Benjamin Harrison is credited with starting the tradition of having a Christmas tree inside the White House in 1889 when he set up a tree for his grandchildren. The tree glowed with wax candles, and Harrison even dressed up as Santa Claus. “Let me hope,” the president said, “that my example will be followed by every family in the land.”