周一，第一夫人吉尔·拜登在美国首都开启了假日季，她接受了白宫官方圣诞树的交付，并带上了所有人们可能会想到的雪橇铃铛和哨子。
今年的这棵18.5英尺高的弗雷泽冷杉来自北卡罗来纳州的杰斐逊。周一下午的白宫欢迎活动标志着56年的传统。
这棵圣诞树是由一辆常青颜色的马车抵达白宫门廊的，马车上装饰着节日的绿植，由两匹克莱德斯代尔马——本和温斯顿——拉着顺车道而下，马身上挂着银色的雪橇铃铛，辫子上扎着纸质圣诞树。圣诞树交付时，一支四人乐队演奏了圣诞经典曲目，包括《哦，圣诞树》和《哦，来吧，所有忠诚的人》。
第一夫人穿着一件红色外套和一件白色连衣裙，在快速的质量检查后，显然很高兴地接受了圣诞树。
当被问及对这棵树的看法时，她告诉记者:“它很美——实际上很壮观。
据白宫称，这棵树将在蓝色房间展出，吊灯将被暂时移除，以适应树的全部高度。
在第一夫人接受后，圣诞树将在节日期间装饰。
除了埃斯蒂斯家族在第三年赢得全国圣诞树大赛后提供了圣诞树之外，第一夫人还邀请哈雷尔家族纪念这一时刻，代表和纪念今年分开度假的现役国民警卫队成员的家人。
白宫表示，作为国民警卫队的妈妈，拜登打算今年表彰国民警卫队在应对新冠肺炎·疫情事件中的作用。
拜登的家人也到场领奖，包括儿子亨特和他的儿子小博，第一夫人把她从树上摘下的一根树枝递给了他们。
第一夫人还没有宣布今年白宫装饰的主题，预计将在未来几天公布。
她告诉记者，在这个假期里，她给服务会员的信息是“安全，度过一个快乐、健康的假期。”
First lady Jill Biden accepts White House Christmas tree
First lady Jill Biden kicked off the holiday season in the nation's capital on Monday by accepting delivery of the official White House Christmas tree -- with all the sleigh bells and whistles one might expect.
This year's tree -- an 18.5-foot Fraser fir -- hails from Jefferson, North Carolina. The White House welcome event on Monday afternoon marked 56 years of the tradition.
The tree arrived at the White House Portico on an evergreen-colored carriage decked out in holiday greenery and pulled down the driveway by two Clydesdale horses -- Ben and Winston -- who were adorned with silver sleigh bells and with paper Christmas trees in their braids. A four-piece band played Christmas classics, including "O, Christmas Tree" and "O, Come All Ye Faithful," as the tree was delivered.
Wearing a red coat and a white dress, the first lady accepted the Christmas tree in apparent delight following a quick quality inspection.
"It's beautiful -- it's magnificent, actually," she told reporters when asked what she thought of the tree.
This tree will be on display in the Blue Room, where the chandelier will be temporarily removed to accommodate the full height of the tree, according to the White House.
Following the first lady's acceptance, the Christmas tree will be decorated for the holiday season.
In addition to the Estes family, which provided the tree after winning the National Christmas Tree Contest for their third year, the first lady also invited the Harrell Family to mark the occasion, to represent and honor the families of active National Guard members who are spending the holidays apart this year.
A National Guard mom herself, Biden intended to honor the role of the National Guard this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the White House said.
Biden's family was also on hand for the acceptance including son Hunter and his son, Beau Jr., whom the first lady handed a branch that she plucked from the tree.
The first lady has not yet announced the theme of this year's decorations at the White House, expected to be unveiled in the coming days.
She told reporters her message for service members this holiday season is to "be safe and have a happy, healthy holiday."
