第一夫人吉尔·拜登周一公布了白宫的节日装饰，并宣布了她2021年的主题为“发自内心的礼物”，旨在纪念那些在20世纪80年代带来的苦难中坚持下来的人新冠肺炎·疫情。

“我们认为神圣的东西将我们团结在一起，超越距离、时间，甚至超越疫情的限制:信仰、家庭和友谊;热爱艺术、学习和自然;感恩、服务和社区;团结与和平。这些礼物把我们生活的心弦绑在一起。这些是发自内心的礼物，”拜登夫妇在一封信中写道，信中解释了一份纪念性白宫假日指南的主题。

第一夫人和总统说:“当我们在白宫庆祝我们的第一个假期时，我们受到了我们在全国各地遇到的美国人的鼓舞，一次又一次地提醒我们，我们的差异是宝贵的，我们的相似之处是无限的。“我们祝你节日快乐、健康、快乐。当我们展望充满可能的新的一年时，愿来自内心的礼物照亮我们前进的道路。”

大约用了25个花圈、41棵圣诞树、300根蜡烛、6000英尺长的丝带、10000个装饰品和近80000盏节日灯来装扮白宫，迎接节日。据第一夫人办公室称，有100多名志愿者参与了装饰工作。虽然过去的志愿者来自全国各地，但由于新冠肺炎问题，他们今年仅限于周边地区。

官员们说，这个主题在每个房间里都有体现，“如果你愿意的话，可以用另一个主题或子主题的某种元素。”

在代表“和平与团结的礼物”的蓝色房间里，站着官员白宫圣诞树。房间里标志性的吊灯被临时移走，以展示来自北卡罗来纳州杰弗逊的18.5英尺高的弗雷泽冷杉，第一夫人上周对此表示欢迎。

白宫说:“和平鸽从树上飞下来，衔着一面闪闪发光的旗帜，上面浮雕着美国每个州和领土的名字，提醒我们所有人团结和国家和谐的重要性。

特朗普夫妇、奥巴马夫妇、布什夫妇、里根夫妇和卡特夫妇的照片也挂在树上，此外还有拜登夫妇、他们的孩子、孙子和狗、冠军和少校的照片。

在国家餐厅里，圣诞袜挂在壁炉架上方，为拜登的每个孙子孙女准备，上面标有他们的名字。

白宫表示，姜饼白宫“受到我们对国家一线工作人员的感激和钦佩的鼓舞，这些工作人员让我们的国家在全球疫情运行，他们经常冒着极大的风险来保护自己和家人，”表彰护士、医生、邮政和杂货店的工作人员，仅举几个例子，它配有一名姜饼学校的老师，说明了第一夫人是一名长期的社区大学教授，她微笑着站在姜饼学校旁边。

同时展出的还有拜登夫妇的圣诞卡，上面写着“乔”和“吉尔”，其中包括对那些在今年失去生命的人的纪念新冠肺炎(新型冠状病毒肺炎)。

卡片背面的蜡烛图中有这样的文字:“为了纪念所有为新冠肺炎牺牲的美国人，为了表彰重要的一线工作人员、急救人员、我们的服务人员及其家人。”

正如她上周欢迎白宫圣诞树时所做的那样，周一下午，国民警卫队家庭——哈勒尔斯家庭——再次加入第一夫人的行列，以纪念那些分开度过假期的人。

为此，一棵纪念因公殉职的服务人员以及继承其遗产的家人的金星树正在东楼梯平台展出。

周一，第一夫人主持了马里兰一所小学的二年级课堂，帮助她揭开装饰品。

孩子们戴着口罩和腕带，表示他们已经接受了新冠肺炎测试，第一夫人读了她2012年的儿童读物《别忘了，上帝保佑我们的军队》公共广播公司的孩子们举行了一场节日木偶剧来纪念这个节日，孩子们出现在卡夫兄弟的表演中。

她还在简短的讲话中感谢了那些为节日装饰房子的志愿者。

“当疫情让我们分开时——就像我知道今年过得有多艰难一样——或者我们觉得我们生活的重担太重了，无法承受，这些常数提醒我们，它们感受到了我们，让我们的目光投向了未来，”她谈到这个主题时说。

“尽管我们有分歧，但我们被真正重要的东西团结在一起，比如我们在核心位置走到一起的一颗星星上的点。这就是我今年想在我们的白宫反映的，”拜登补充道，向志愿者们吹了一个吻。

安德鲁·卡瓦列罗-雷诺兹/法新社，通过盖蒂图像公司

第一夫人吉尔·拜登在一次活动中发言，感谢来自该地区的志愿者...

早些时候，在东翼，总统自己的美国海军陆战队乐队在各种红色大礼包中演奏了各种节日曲调。

据第一夫人的通信主管伊丽莎白·亚历山大(Elizabeth Alexander)说，节日装饰的计划始于5月下旬，第一夫人“非常投入”这个过程。

社会秘书卡洛斯·埃利宗多说，白宫在供应链方面没有太多问题，“但是有一些项目被搁置了”，比如一些话题，他说。

由于疫情，公众参观暂停，白宫表示将继续关注在社交媒体和其他平台上观看装饰的互动方式。

First lady Jill Biden unveils White House holiday decorations

First lady Jill Biden unveiled the White House holiday decorations on Monday and announced her theme for the 2021 season as "Gifts from the Heart," intended to honor those who have persevered through hardships brought on by theCOVID-19 pandemic.

"The things we hold sacred unite us and transcend distance, time, and even the constraints of a pandemic: faith, family, and friendship; a love of the arts, learning, and nature; gratitude, service, and community; unity and peace. These are the gifts that tie together the heart strings of our lives. These are the Gifts from the Heart," the Bidens wrote in a letter explaining the theme for a commemorative White House Holiday Guide.

"As we celebrate our first holiday season in the White House, we are inspired by the Americans we have met across the country, time and again reminding us that our differences are precious and our similarities infinite," the first lady and president said. "We wish you a happy, healthy, and joyous holiday season. As we look to a new year full of possibility, may gifts from the heart light our path forward."

It took approximately 25 wreaths, 41 Christmas trees, 300 candles, 6,000 feet of ribbon, 10,000 ornaments and nearly 80,000-holiday lights to spruce up the White House for the holiday season. More than 100 volunteers worked on the decorations, according to the office of the first lady. While volunteers in the past have come from around the country, they were limited to surrounding areas this year due to the COVID-19 concerns.

Officials said the theme is represented in every room "with sort of an element of another theme, a sub-theme, if you will."

Inside the Blue Room, which represents the "Gift of Peace and Unity," stands the officialWhite House Christmas tree. The room's iconic chandelier was temporarily removed to display the 18.5-foot Fraser fir from Jefferson, North Carolina, which the first lady welcomed last week.

"Cascading down the tree, peace doves carry a shimmering banner embossed with the names of each state and territory of the United States, reminding us all of the importance of unity and national harmony," the White House said.

Photos of the Trumps, Obamas, both Bushes, Reagans and Carters also hang on the tree, in addition to pictures of the Bidens, their kids, grandkids and dogs, Champ and Major.

Inside the State Dining Room, Christmas stockings hang above the fireplace mantel for each of the Biden grandchildren, marked with their names.

The Gingerbread White House, which the White House said was "inspired by our gratitude and admiration for our Nation's frontline workers who kept our country running through the global pandemic, often at great risk to themselves and their families," honors nurses, doctors, postal and grocery store workers, to name a few, and is complete with a gingerbread school teacher, illustrative of the first lady who is a longtime community college professor, smiling and standing next to a gingerbread schoolhouse.

Also on display is the Bidens' Christmas card, signed "Joe" and "Jill," which includes a remembrance for those who lost their lives this year toCOVID-19.

A drawing of a candle on the back of the card includes the words, "In remembrance of all Americans who lost their lives to COVID-19 and in recognition of essential and frontline workers, first responders, and our service members and their families."

As she did when she welcomed the White House Christmas tree last week, the first lady was joined again Monday afternoon by the National Guard family -- the Harrells -- to honor those spending the holiday season apart.

To that end, a Gold Star Tree honoring service members who have died in the line of duty, as well as their families who carry on their legacies, is on display at the East landing.

The first lady hosted a second-grade class from an elementary school in Maryland to help her unveil the decorations on Monday.

The kids sported masks and wrist bands to indicate they have been COVID-19 tested, and the first lady read her 2012 children's book, "Don't Forget, God Bless our Troops." PBS Kids held a holiday puppet show to mark the festive occasion, and the children appeared starstruck at a performance by the Kraft Brothers.

She also thanked volunteers who decorated the home for the holidays in brief remarks.

"When the pandemic keeps us apart -- like I know how tough this year has been really struggling to get by -- or we feel like the weight of our lives is just too heavy to carry, these constants remind us that they feel us and lift our eyes to the future," she said of the theme.

"For all of our differences, we are united by what really matters like points on a star we come together at the heart. That is what I wanted to reflect in our White House this year," Biden added, blowing a kiss to the volunteers.

Earlier, inside the East Wing, the president's own U.S. Marine Corps band played an assortment of holiday tunes amid an assortment of large, red packages.

The planning for holiday decorations started in late May, and the first lady was "very involved" in the process, according to her communications director Elizabeth Alexander.

Social secretary Carlos Elizondo said the White House didn't have too many problems with the supply chain, "but there were some items that were backed up," like some of the topiaries, he said.

With public tours on pause due to the pandemic, the White House said to stay tuned for interactive ways to view the decorations on social media and other platforms.