White House to host singing Dominican nuns at National Christmas Tree Lighting

Singing nuns for the tree lighting? This may be a first. Details: 

A group of Catholic sisters will be singing at this year’s National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at the White House.

According to the White House’s official website for the event, this American tradition dates back to 1923 when President Calvin Coolidge walked from the White House to the Ellipse park to light a 48-foot fir tree covered with colored bulbs. A local choir and a “quartet” from the U.S. Marine Band performed at the ceremony.

The Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist, whose Motherhouse is in Ann Arbor, MI, are a teaching order founded in 1997 in response to St. John Paul II’s call for a new evangelization. Now numbering over 120, the Dominican Sisters have an average age of 30.

From the press release: 

The Dominican Sisters of Mary will further bring their ‘Joy to the World,’ as they have accepted an invitation to sing at the 96th annual White House National Christmas Tree Lighting. The event itself will be recorded before a large audience on the Ellipse in President’s Park (White House lawn) on November 28, 2018. As in years past, the Christmas Tree Lighting is a partnership with the National Park Foundation, the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. Ovation and REELZ will broadcast the National Christmas Tree Lighting on Sunday, December 2 at 10 p.m. EST. The various partners have chosen the theme, ‘Through the Decades,’ which is meant to celebrate the Christmas season, with favorite holiday tunes.

Hardly strangers to culture impacting invitations which share their much beloved community where possible, the Sisters have released three Billboard and Amazon #1 Classical chart-topping recordings: including the recent cozy holiday hit classic entitled Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring: Christmas with The Dominican Sisters of Mary. ‘Jesu Joy’ features this choir of angels’ a capella arrangements as well as small chamber orchestra accompaniment tracks consisting of the Sisters themselves playing the various instruments. The glorious Christmas collection is internationally released with De Montfort Music through Sony Music Entertainment.

The Sisters may also be recognized due to their multiple appearances on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” as well as on NBC’s Today Show, The Associated Press, NBC News Nightly, NPR, Good Morning America, Telegraph UK , Fox & Friends, CBS This Morning.

Elaborating on their tradition of sharing their multi-sensory presentations of encounters with truth, beauty and goodness, in addition to the ‘Jesu Joy’ recording, the Sisters have also released a beautiful, Advent Journal designed to guide hearts through the season of Advent, leading up to Christmas.