First lady Laura Bush, along with tree growers Jim and Diane Chapman, left, views the White House Christmas tree Dec. 1, 2003, after it arrived at the North Portico of the White House by horse-drawn wagon. The Chapmans are from Endeavor, Wis., and the tree is an 18-1/2-foot Fraser fir grown in Wisconsin.
John Sjonger of Cornwall, Ont., fixes a few bulbs on a mammoth, 37-foot circumference, Christmas wreath on Nov. 26, 2003. He assembled the wreath in 10 days with help from his family and neighbors and they placed it on the side of his apartment building.
Mercury on Pegasus, a 1716 sculpture, is seen in silhouette against the halo of the Christmas lights that illuminate the stretch from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe, along the Champs Elysees, unseen, Nov. 27, 2003. The famous avenue ushered in the Christmas season with a street lighting ceremony and glitter from thousands of bulbs. The Eiffel tower is seen in background.
Workers remove scaffolding used to decorate the 79-foot-tall Rockefeller Center Christmas tree Nov. 26, 2003, in New York.
The U.S. Capitol Holiday Tree is lifted into place on the grounds of the Capitol Dec. 1, 2003, in Washington. The Engelmann spruce, cut from Idaho's Boise National Forest, is 73 years old, 61 feet tall, and weighs 11,000 pounds.
Eleanor Roosevelt's Val-Kill, a stone cottage built by Franklin Roosevelt for his wife as a retreat, is shown decorated for the holidays in this December 2002 photo released by the National Park Service. The rooms will be decorated again this year as part of the Historic Hyde Park Christmas.
Deborah King, left, cuts the bottom from a Christmas tree as her brother Jerry, second from left, drags another tree from the rows at Santa's Choice Christmas Tree Farm in Florence, Miss., Nov. 28, 2003. The Kings, who have been coming to the Christmas tree farm for the past five years, chose a 12-foot Leland Cypress
General manager Travis Dillon places price tags on live trees Nov. 28, 2003, at the Ted Drewes tree lot in St. Louis. Consumers are expected to purchase nearly six million more live trees this season than last, according to the National Christmas Tree Association.
Hundreds of people gather in central Frankfurt, Germany, Nov. 26, 2003, for the official opening of the traditional Christmas market.
Lynne Cheney, second from right, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, rides up in a hydraulic lift to help place the star atop the 40-foot tall National Christmas Tree near the White House in Washington, Nov. 25, 2003. She is joined in the ceremony by Washington businessman Peter Nostrand, right, who serves as president of the annual Pageant of Peace on the Ellipse, and her grandchildren.
Pope John Paul II receives a menorah from Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, at center, and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean, at the Vatican, Dec. 1, 2003. The delegation met with the pope to seek the Vatican's support in a campaign to urge the international community to treat suicide bombing as a "crime against humanity."
Some of the approximately 50 Volunteers of America dressed as Santa Claus march down Fifth Avenue in New York, Nov. 28, 2003. The newly graduated Santas will hit the streets for this season's Sidewalk Santa program.
A runner dressed as Santa Claus participates in the 108th annual 5-mile Turkey Trot in Buffalo, N.Y., Nov. 27, 2003. Over 6,000 participated in the YMCA of Greater Buffalo-organized race on Thanksgiving Day.
Gerry Autin, left, attempts to comfort her three-year-old twin granddaughters Ashley, left, and Harley Voisin, with the help of their mother Sabrina Voisin, far right, all from Morgan City, La., before they have their photograph taken with Santa Claus at the Southland Mall in Houma, La, Friday, Nov. 28, 2003. The family was shopping on "Black Friday," the busiest shopping day after Thanksgiving.