Christmas 2024: First Lady Jill Biden Delivers Remarks Offering her Holiday Message to the Nation

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First Lady Jill Biden delivers remarks to offer her holiday message to the Nation, and thank the volunteers from across the country who helped decorate the White House for the season.       #JillBiden #JoeBiden #Christmas #ChristmasCelebrations #Christmas2024 #USChristmas #DonaldTrump #Oneindia                      ~HT.178~GR.121~PR.274~ED.103~

Transcript

00:00Hello! How are you? Hi. Well, gosh, in the swirl of the end of each year, we hope to

00:10begin to turn toward our hope for tomorrow. So as we celebrate our final holiday season

00:17here in the White House, we are guided by the values that we hold sacred. Faith, family,

00:25and service to our country, kindness toward all of our neighbors, and the power of community.

00:34So that's what inspired this holiday theme. What I think of this time of year, a season

00:41of peace and light. We begin with light from the stunning rotating star above the east

00:50entrance is when you all came in. And walking in, we're embraced by the sparkling spirit

00:56of the season as light-filled greenery led us to the first Christmas tree display dedicated

01:04to our gold star families. And this year's gold star tree exhibit is constructed of six

01:17large stars. I think you all saw them by now, right? Representing each branch of our

01:23military. I thought it was just beautiful walking in and seeing the gold and leading

01:28to that tree. You know, the names of fallen service members are written on the gold star

01:33ornaments on the company Christmas trees. And the display honors the heroic men and

01:42women of our country, of our nation's military, who have laid down their lives for our country.

01:48Those who are missing in action and the families who carry on their legacies. So may God bless

01:54our troops and their families. Then chiming bells call us to the east colonnade where

02:04bells of all sizes float above us and line every archway, filling the air with the sounds

02:11of the season. In the east garden room, a horse-drawn sleigh pulls us into the historic

02:18mansion. It was really cute, wasn't it? And there we enter another hall of light as lush

02:27garlands of green envelop us in the tranquility of nature. In the library, a twirling forest

02:34of vintage ceramic trees shines with the color of the holidays. And walking in, I

02:41was taken back to my childhood because when that tree first came out, so you know it's

02:48an antique, we knew Christmas had begun. So across the hall in the Vermeer room, we enjoy

02:55trees of stacked bows and vibrant silk flowers. And artisanal breads spill out of the China

03:04room and we can almost smell their warm aroma, filling the air with memories. Earlier this

03:11year, I opened the diplomatic room. It was the first time to be on the tour. So the expanded

03:18White House tour. So I hope you saw, those of you who were here other years, I hope you

03:23saw the difference. You know, I tried to make the tour come alive. It was important

03:27to me as an educator. So this holiday season, for the first time, guests will be able to

03:33enjoy that space and it features the White House Historical Association ornament honoring

03:40President Carter. God bless him. Now, look above us. Here in the east room, a reflective

03:51canopy wraps us in a peaceful snowfall. In the green room, a rainbow of glass ornaments

03:58fills the room with a burst of color and light. And just outside the green room, we find the

04:04official White House menorah made during Joe's first year in the White House. The carpentry

04:11shop made that themselves. Make sure that you see it. It's truly beautiful. And you

04:16know, it came from wood from the White House grounds in the renovation of this house 70

04:24years ago. That's pretty incredible. So in the blue room, you know, you can't help but

04:31smile when you see that tree. And as the animals move up and down and, you know, and we see

04:38the holiday candy trees lining the tree, don't you feel like you're a kid again? And sitting

04:45on a carousel, you know, is that world of light just spinning around us. So the White

04:51House official Christmas tree also features the name of every state and territory and

04:57the District of Columbia as you look around the top of it. And each year, I love watching

05:03all the visitors and you'll probably see it yourselves when you walk in there, looking

05:07for your home state and, you know, seeing your faces light up as you find like, hey,

05:12here's Delaware or Pennsylvania, New Jersey. In the red room, glowing gifts from under

05:18the Christmas tree lift, light the messages of peace above. And for the state dining room,

05:26we invited military families from the USS Delaware and the USS Gabrielle Giffords, the

05:33two Navy vessels that I have the honor of sponsoring to create some paper garlands hanging

05:41throughout the room. I thought they looked so beautiful. And adorning the sparkling Christmas

05:48trees beside them are self-portraits by students from across the country. And I know that some

05:57of the teachers, some of their teachers are here and they help decorate the trees. So

06:01how many of you are teachers? How many of you are teachers? Lots of teachers. I love

06:06that because teachers always get stuff done. So the trees are amazing. Of course, the room

06:18also features this year's incredible gingerbread house. I love that. Didn't you see it light

06:24up? I mean, it was just so beautiful. And did you see the ice skating rink right in

06:29front of it? And Susie and Carlo did, you know, you did such an amazing job. So thank

06:36you for creating that. And this year's display captures the light of our theme from the glowing

06:46windows to the bright star on top of the house of the gingerbread house. And in the cross

06:51hall behind me, spectacular flocks of hand-cut peace doves fly across the sky. I mean, really,

07:04how beautiful is that? And finally, don't miss that teddy bear driving the vintage red

07:10truck. Now, to you, the people who brought this vision to life, our volunteers. This,

07:19yes, all of you. This would not be possible without your work. It's been incredible to

07:28watch all of you transform this space year after year. And you traded time with families

07:37for hours gluing, you know, with hot glue guns. And, you know, and Thanksgiving leftovers

07:46for tired wrists from wiring ornaments to the trees. Because, you know, you can't just

07:52hang it. It has to be, you know, hung perfectly. I know, some of you are perfectionists. That's

07:59okay. And some of, and you have to wrap them around and around the branch so the ornaments

08:06stay on. Because, you know, thousands of kids are coming through here, and they're going

08:10to try to pull them off. So you have to make sure that they're secure. They always try

08:15to. I mean, you know. But it's during those long afternoons when your hands are sore from

08:22cutting the ribbons just so, from hanging the greenery, that's when these lifelong

08:29friendships are made. And that's when the magic happens. So I'm already hearing about

08:38the text chains you're creating to keep in touch. I wish you could add my name to those.

08:47So thank you for everything that you've done. To Brian Raffinelli, who's back there in the

08:54corner, Brian. Love you. And his team. I'm so grateful for your vision and your leadership.

09:05And to all the incredible decorators who were here, like Glitterville, BMF, Silver Lining,

09:12Sherry Berry Paper, and Design, Frost Chicago, thank you for dedicating your time and talents

09:18to this design. I'm also grateful to the National Confectioners Association for their partnership

09:26and unyielding support. So let's thank all of them. And there's another person who helped

09:38bring the magic of our theme to life. The incredible illustrator of our 2024 White

09:45House Holiday Guide, Zoe Ranucci. Zoe, where are you? Oh, there she is. You'll have to

09:56say hello to everybody, Zoe, because they so appreciate everything you've done. Thank

10:00you for creating the beautiful artistry in your design. So these last four years, you

10:07know, there's a group of people who have helped us stay in touch with the American people.

10:12And they're our correspondence volunteers. So you can imagine how much I appreciate them

10:22as an English teacher and their writing skills, because I teach writing. So all of you are

10:29an essential part of our democracy, and I'm so grateful for your work. Thank you all for

10:35your heart and for everything you've done to make this possible, the People's House.

10:43So for Joe and for me, these are the final holidays at the White House. So standing with

10:50all of you, I remember the first time we walked across this threshold right over here on Inauguration

10:57Day. And the gravitational pull of history guided us forward, wrapping us in the centuries

11:05of stories that live here in this house. Then we were finally able to welcome all the

11:11visitors. And on public tours and on receptions, and as volunteers decorated during the holidays

11:19during the four years, your laughter and ideas harmonized with the echoes of the past. And

11:27in those moments, this became more than a historic house. You made it a home, alive

11:36with purpose and possibility. And that's why each year, we've opened the doors of the People's

11:43House wider and wider, so we can bring the light of more Americans into these halls.

11:52It's been the honor of our lives to serve as your first family. May our nation be blessed

11:59with peace and light this holiday season. Merry Christmas, happy holidays. We love you

12:06all. Thank you.

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