{"id":60903,"date":"2024-12-05T10:59:39","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T15:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=60903"},"modified":"2024-12-05T10:59:39","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T15:59:39","slug":"alaska-beacon-u-s-capitol-tree-features-tlingit-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/12\/05\/alaska-beacon-u-s-capitol-tree-features-tlingit-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Alaska Beacon: U.S. Capitol tree features Tlingit language"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<iframe  src='https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/video\/standalone\/?540104-1\/us-capitol-christmas-tree-lighting-ceremony' allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' frameborder=0><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">C-SPAN: <a href=https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/video\/?540104-1\/us-capitol-christmas-tree-lighting-ceremony>U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony &#8211; December 4, 2024<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Christmas tree from Alaska, gingerbread Capitol sweeten the season in D.C.<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Thursday, December 5, 2024<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Ashley Murray, <a href=\"https:\/\/alaskabeacon.com\">Alaska Beacon<\/a><\/div><p><\/p>\r\n<p>WASHINGTON, D.C. &#8212; The holiday season kicked off on Capitol Hill this week with the official Christmas tree lighting ceremony and the unveiling of a gingerbread replica of the U.S. Capitol \u2014 complete with sugar flowers representing all 50 states.<\/p><p>U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and the Alaska congressional delegation illuminated the 80-foot 2024 C<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscapitolchristmastree.com\">apitol Christmas Tree<\/a> on the West Front lawn Tuesday evening.<\/p><p>Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska said the tree \u201cis a really good substitute to give you a sense of our majestic state.\u201d<\/p><p>\u201cImagine tens of thousands of trees just like this blanketed in several feet of snow. It\u2019s a magical place, it\u2019s a magical time of year, and for us Alaskans, this is a slice of home right here in the capital,\u201d Sullivan said.<\/p><p>The Sitka spruce, Alaska\u2019s official state tree, was harvested on Oct. 19 from the Tongass National Forest on Zarembo Island.\u00a0 A self-contained watering system built by local high school students kept the tree alive on its weeks-long journey to Washington, D.C.<\/p>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Last night was a celebration of Alaska. I\u2019m so proud of the collective effort from everyone across our state who made this evening possible: the students of Wrangell High School, who developed the watering system that kept this beautiful Sitka Spruce healthy; Fred Austin and John\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/aOoJeaiuSY\">pic.twitter.com\/aOoJeaiuSY<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Sen. Lisa Murkowski (@lisamurkowski) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lisamurkowski\/status\/1864314977999573203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 4, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n\r\n<p>Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska recounted for the ceremony crowd the tree\u2019s 752-mile trip by sea and more than 4,000-mile\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fleetowner.com\/news\/media-gallery\/55246000\/how-an-alaskan-carrier-and-truck-drivers-hauled-the-us-capitol-christmas-tree-4000-miles\">truck ride<\/a> through the lower 48 states. Murkowski and Sullivan praised the \u201cmasterful driving\u201d by Teamster truckers Fred Austin and John Schank, who delivered the tree safely to the Capitol.<\/p><p>\u201cYou think about the logistics. This is a huge, massive tree. It did not come in parts that are assembled. So it (arrived) on one huge 80-foot-plus flatbed,\u201d Murkowski said.<\/p><p>\u201cYou can\u2019t get this thing around corners and do it easily,\u201d Murkowski added.<\/p><p>Fourth-grader Rose Burke of Kenai, Alaska, who won Murkowski\u2019s essay contest, read her piece of writing titled \u201cAlaska\u2019s Christmas Tree\u201d before helping Johnson switch on scores of colored lights.<\/p><p>The tree is adorned with thousands of handmade ornaments created by Alaskan school students and community volunteers.\u00a0 Historian and Teehitaan clan leader Mike Aak\u2019wtaatseen Hoyt designed a logo for the tree featuring the Tlingit words \u201ckay\u00e9il\u2019, sag\u00fa and ka toow\u00fak\u2019\u00e9,\u201d which means \u201cpeace, happiness, and joy\u201d in English.<\/p><p>The tree will be lit from sundown to 11 p.m. Eastern every day through January 1. The Capitol tree lighting ceremony began in 1964.<\/p>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\r\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CapitolChristmasTree?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CapitolChristmasTree<\/a>, in all of its splendor, is officially aglow for the season! \ud83c\udf1f The tree will be lit from nightfall until 11 p.m. each evening through January 1. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/24tDQ2Jmwk\">https:\/\/t.co\/24tDQ2Jmwk<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5djcKIBvsn\">pic.twitter.com\/5djcKIBvsn<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Architect of the Capitol (AOC) (@uscapitol) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/uscapitol\/status\/1864077968055710111?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 3, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">Gingerbread Capitol<\/div><p>Another holiday tradition is underway in the Cannon House Office Building. A gingerbread model of the U.S. Capitol was wheeled into the building\u2019s rotunda Sunday. The 8th annual deliciously scented replica, themed \u201cUnited in Bloom,\u201d presents a snowy scene brightened by the official flowers from each of the 50 states.<\/p><p>Just over 350 flowers, crafted from sugar, stand out from the white fondant and icing snow. The flowers alone took more than 100 hours of labor by pastry chef Audrey Angeles, owner of the local Frost and Flourish Bakery and Patisserie.<\/p><p>The gingerbread model was constructed by a team of six culinary professionals led by Fred Johnson III, executive chef for Sodexo, the food service provider for the U.S. House, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/capitolgingerbread.com\/executive-chef-johnson\/\">a native of Norwalk, Ohio.<\/a><\/p><p>Johnson, who led a long and distinguished career cooking for U.S. military personnel and President Barack Obama, has baked and constructed the gingerbread replica since 2017. This year\u2019s model is made of 125 pounds of gingerbread that Johnson baked in an oven on the Capitol complex grounds.<\/p><p>Johnson said his team of pastry chefs added roughly 30 pounds of fondant icing to decorate 365-degrees around the model, the first time the team has done so as the replica is usually displayed against a wall. Visitors will see a detailed fondant carousel and will again be able to spot pandas in the display \u2014 a nod to their return to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.edu\/museums\/national-zoo\">National Zoo<\/a> in Washington, D.C.<\/p><p>\u201cI think the success of this year\u2019s model was allowing people to come up with their ideas and just do it,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p><p>The team worked each Sunday for six weeks decorating and detailing the entirely edible model that features white candy cane pillars and Isomalt windows.<\/p><p>\u201cThe dome was the one thing that stressed me out in 2017,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p><p>He\u2019s since developed a system to mold the dome out of Rice Krispies Treats and form the gingerbread around it and cut the windows. Through a careful process of freezing, baking and peeling, Johnson can place the dome on top.<\/p><p>\u201cI\u2019ve got it down to a science now,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p><p>The gingerbread Capitol will be on display throughout the holiday season.<\/p><p>Last updated 9:10 a.m., December 4, 2024<\/p><style> figure, .tipContainer, .socContainer, .subscribeShortcodeContainer, .donateContainer {display:none !important;} .youtubeContainer { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; padding-top: 30px; height: 0; overflow: hidden; margin-bottom:12px; } .youtubeContainer iframe, .video-container object, .video-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100% !important; height: 100%; margin: 12px 0px !important; } .newsroomSidebar {width:35%;max-width:35%;padding:10px;border-top:solid 2px black;background-color:#d3d3d3;float:right;margin-left:50px;} .snrsInfoboxSubContainer {padding:10px;border-top:solid 2px black;background-color:#d3d3d3;} .halfwidth {float:right;width:50%;max-width:50%;} .indent2Container {margin-left: 1em;margin-bottom:1em; border-left: solid 1px black;padding-left: 2em;} @media only screen and (max-width: 600px) {.newsroomSidebar {max-width:95%;width:95%;margin-left:4%} .halfwidth {float:none;width:100%;max-width:100%;} }<\/style> \r\n<HR>\r\n<P><strong>This story originally appeared on <a href=\"https:\/\/alaskabeacon.com\/2024\/12\/04\/dc\/christmas-tree-from-alaska-gingerbread-capitol-sweeten-the-season-in-d-c\/\">Alaska Beacon on December 4, 2024<\/a>. It is published under a Creative Commons license (<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/\">CC BY-ND 4.0<\/a>).<\/strong><\/P>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/alaskabeacon.com\">Alaska Beacon<\/a> is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alaska Beacon maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Andrew Kitchenman for questions: <a href=\"mailto:info@alaskabeacon.com\">info@alaskabeacon.com<\/a>. Follow Alaska Beacon on <a href=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/AlaskaBeacon\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AlaskaBeacon\">X<\/a>.<\/p><HR>\r\n<img src=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/05\/capitolchristmastree.jpg width=0 height=0 class=invisible>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Historian and clan leader Mike Aak\u2019wtaatseen Hoyt designed a logo for the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree featuring the Tlingit language.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60945,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,14],"tags":[78,5216,774,346,175,211,5775,4292,474,102],"class_list":["post-60903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-politics","tag-alaska","tag-alaska-beacon","tag-dan-sullivan","tag-dc","tag-languages","tag-lisa-murkowski","tag-mike-aakwtaatseen-hoyt","tag-mike-johnson","tag-usfs","tag-youth","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/05\/capitolchristmastree.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-fQj","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60903"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60947,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60903\/revisions\/60947"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}