Speaker Paul Ryan and 5th grader Isabella Gerard from Idaho lit the 2016 Capitol Christmas tree on December 6th.

Isabella, who hails from Boise, won the right to flip the switch by writing this contest-winning poem:

Pristine Idaho Mountains

Idaho is blessed with beautiful mountains and immense forests.
In the winter the mountains and forests are covered with snow,
making the landscape look like never ending clouds with skyscrapers covered in snow.
Big tall trees.
Beautiful to look at.
Amazing to see.
Pristine mountains.
As I sit in the forest I find peace.
As the wind blows through the tall ponderosa pines I feel a sense of solitude and peacefulness.
To someone that has never been in an Idaho forest, it is hard to understand the size and beauty.
If only you could be here looking at these beautiful Idaho scenes.

The Capitol tree is covered in 1000’s of C9 red, orange, blue, green and pure white LED Christmas light bulbs and is decorated by ornaments created by students from Idaho.

Truly “The People’s Tree”, the lighting ceremony is open to everyone.

Here are the best places to see more information about this year’s tree and ceremony:

The Official Capitol Tree Website

Capitol Tree Facebook Page

The Capitol Tree vs. The National Tree – great article comparing the two trees in case you were wondering which is which

The News about the 2017 Tree

The tree’s Wikipedia Page

The Tree Tracker – for watching the progress as it journeys across the country each season