One of the things I love about the Christmas holiday season is lights that appear nearly everywhere, from public buildings to town squares to houses. Many towns become larger versions of a Lenox lighted village, or the Dept. 56 New England Village that makes an appearance somewhere in my home every Christmas.
I also enjoy watching documentaries about the decorations at the White House that are shown on HGTV and watching the lighting of the National Tree in Washington, D.C. I recently watched a documentary about one of those trees and how it was transported from Colorado to the National Mall. The lighting of the tree is always a spectacular event to watch.
But there was one year when things were different.
It was a war on Christmas - by a Republican president, no less.
In 1973, in the face of a debilitating energy crisis, President Richard M. Nixon lit a National Christmas Tree sporting just a single light - and asked Congress to grant him authority to curtail everyone else’s outdoor holiday lights.
The annual National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, which takes place on the Ellipse outside the White House, was a huge downer on December 14, 1973, in the wake of a national fuel shortage. In response to United States support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries had launched an oil embargo, leading to long lines at gas stations and shocks throughout the American economy.
“We are heading toward the most acute shortages of energy since World War II,” Nixon warned in November 1973, in one of two speeches that month to prepare the nation for the sacrifices they would have to make that winter.
The president laid out a host of policies aimed at saving energy, such as a 50 mile per hour speed limit and year-long daylight-saving time. He also said that as soon as Congress passed emergency legislation he had requested, he would order “the curtailment of ornamental outdoor lighting for homes and the elimination of all commercial lighting except that which identifies places of business.”
“In the meantime,” Nixon added, “we are already planning right here at the White House to curtail such lighting that we would normally have at Christmastime, and I am asking that all of you act now on a voluntary basis to reduce or eliminate unnecessary lighting in your homes.”
About three weeks later, Nixon arrived in a five-car entourage at the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the Ellipse. The only light on the tree was the star at the top. Eight floodlights at the base helped illuminate the rest of the 40‐foot Colorado blue spruce, which featured non-energy-using decorations, such as garlands and balls - and used 80 percent less energy than the previous year, National Park Service reported.
The muted Nixon Christmas mirrored his diminished presidency at the height of the Watergate crisis. Barely a week earlier, in the wake of growing calls for his impeachment or resignation, Nixon defiantly declared at a news conference, “I’m not a crook.”
“This year, Christmas will be different in terms of lights, perhaps all across America,” Nixon told the 10,000 people who had gathered at the Ellipse on a chilly Friday night. “In a way, I suppose one could say, with only one light on the tree, this will be a very dreary Christmas. But we know that isn’t true.
“The spirit of Christmas,” said the president not known for a touchy-feely side, “is measured by the love that each of us has in his heart.”
Smiling broadly, Nixon put a positive spin on things. Although the country was dealing with an energy problem, he said, “I think that what we can all be thankful for is that it is a problem of peace and not a problem of war.” He added: “This year, every American perhaps will sacrifice a little but no one will suffer.”
Nixon noted it was the first Christmas in 12 years that the United States was at peace with every nation, and the first Christmas in 20 years that no American would be drafted (the United States had ended its involvement in the Vietnam War earlier that year). He also predicted, too optimistically, that the United States would be energy-independent by 1980.
Following his remarks, Nixon called up a Campfire Girl and a Boy Scout, held their hands, and the trio pressed a button that (barely) lit the tree.
By December 1973, 13 months after winning reelection by a landslide, Nixon was a very unpopular incumbent, weighed down by the Watergate scandal, and facing protesters in front of the White House displaying signs urging passing motorists to “Honk for impeachment.” But he received a very different reception at the Christmas tree ceremony, thanks to a large assemblage of teens and young adults, who gave him a raucous ovation.
These supporters, who called themselves “Project Unity,” were affiliated with The Unification Church, founded by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. They held pennants that said, “God Loves America,” “Support Our President” and chanted, “We want Nixon!” “We want the president!” (The Unification Church in late 1973 waged a campaign to support Nixon, which was one of Moon’s top priorities, The Washington Post reported in 1977.)
After the event, White House officials tried to distance themselves from the group, saying they had nothing to do with their turnout, according to a Chicago Tribune story.
Nixon would last just eight more months before resigning in disgrace.
Congress never did grant Nixon’s request to authorize him to reduce holiday lights, but many businesses and individuals curtailed lighting voluntarily. In New York City, the 1,000 members of Fifth Avenue Association, which represented some of the major stores in midtown Manhattan, agreed to reduce power for Christmas displays by 25 percent. Other cities joined in as well.
And lawmakers agreed to two of Nixon’s other proposals - a lower national speed limit and year-round daylight-saving time.
The year-long daylight-saving time, which took effect in January 1974, turned out to be a bust. An 8:30 a.m. sunrise for much of the country proved to be unpopular, and early-morning fatalities were blamed on the switch. Less than a year later, Congress went back to seasonal daylight-saving time.
In his memoir, Nixon recalled the sacrifice Americans had made that Christmas, including the depressing tree. He noted that he and first lady Pat Nixon took their lumps, too.
“Instead of flying to California on Air Force One for the holiday season, Pat and I flew on a commercial airliner,” he wrote. “We returned on a small Air Force Jetstar that had to make one refueling stop and got us back to the White House at 3 a.m.”
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