E-Newsletter

I respect people of all faiths, but as a Christian, I celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus Christ.

Every Christmas season, there are traditions and images prevalent in our leisurely activities.

One tradition is Christmas films, such as Die Hard, It’s a Wonderful Life, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Elf or Miracle on 34^th Street.

The famous actor George C. Scott, a native of Wise County, played “Scrooge” in the 1984 film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Another famous actor, John Payne, who grew up in the Fort Lewis section of Roanoke County, stars as Kris Kringle’s lawyer in the 1947 film Miracle on 34^th Street.

Community parades are commonplace, where fire departments blare their sirens while children anticipate the jolly old man and chant: “Here comes Santa Claus!” Similar chants inspired Gene Autry to write his song of the same name. It is one of my favorites.

Another tradition is the National Tree Lighting Ceremony.

The ceremony takes place at the Ellipse by the White House. The ceremony tradition first started under President Calvin Coolidge in 1923. His chief advisor was C. Bascom Slemp of Big Stone Gap.

This year’s ceremony featured a 30-foot red spruce from Grayson County!

The Mount Rogers National Recreation Area felled and transported the tree to the White House, according to the Galax Gazette.

Of all the trees to choose from in the country, the selection of a Grayson County tree is a significant recognition of our region’s contributions to the Christmas season.

Christmas tree farms are a staple of Grayson County and the Ninth District’s agricultural sector.

WVTF radio reports that 1.2 million Christmas trees are marketed out of Grayson County in a given year. Virginia ranks eighth nationally in Christmas tree production, and leading counties in production acreage include Grayson, Floyd and Scott Counties.

Trees from the region have been displayed at the Virginia Governor’s Mansion as well as the State Capitol. In 2023, Governor Youngkin welcomed a 10-foot Fraser Fir from Floyd County as the Mansion’s Christmas tree.

This December, Governor Youngkin proclaimed December “Virginia Christmas Tree Month.”

A former staffer of mine, Emily Michael, sends me a picture each year of the Christmas tree she buys in DC. The seller gets their trees from…Grayson County.

The origins of this Christmas tradition can be traced back to Europe, and more specifically, Germany.

Martin Luther, the catalyst for the Protestant Reformation, is credited by some for being the first to place lighted candles on a Christmas tree.

The Christmas tree tradition then came to America. Some speculate Hessian soldiers, who were Germans fighting for the British in the American Revolutionary War, and ultimately settled in Pennsylvania, were responsible for the tradition starting in America.

However, the Christmas tree tradition did not catch on right away. For a long time, the tradition was rejected and dismissed for promoting pagan symbols.

Others point to a German-born American professor and clergyman, Charles Minnigerode, for playing an influential role in the Christmas tree tradition.

Minnigerode immigrated to the U.S. in 1839. Most notably, he was the rector of Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, which attracted the likes of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

In May 1862, Minnigerode baptized Davis and administered his first communion.

It is alleged that Minnigerode, who also taught classes at William & Mary, introduced to Williamsburg the custom of decorating a Christmas tree. According to the university’s website, Minnigerode gifted a fellow professor a decorated tree.

Just after Minnigerode’s arrival in America, America’s 14^th president, Franklin Pierce, brought a Christmas tree to the White House. Pierce is often credited for being the president to introduce a Christmas tree into the White House.

Depending on your source, America’s 26^th president, Teddy Roosevelt, supposedly banned Christmas trees at the White House. The renowned environmentalist was not willing to cede any ground on his cause, even if it meant ditching the Christmas spirit!

Many localities in the Ninth have neatly decorated their towns and homes with trees, wreaths and lights this Christmas.

Wherever you got your tree from this holiday season, do not forget the Ninth District’s role in making the Christmas tree tradition a reality for many in America.

And in this year’s case, it has even made the National Tree Lighting Ceremony a reality.

No matter what faith you practice or what traditions you keep, I hope you have a peaceful holiday season and…Merry Christmas!

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office.  You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at morgangriffith.house.gov.

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