Naval District Washington (NDW) held its annual tree-lighting ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard (WNY), Dec. 4.

The ceremony, hosted by the NDW Commandant Rear Adm. Yancy Lindsey, included naval attaches from around the world, local community leaders, and military and civilian employees and their families and friends for an evening of entertainment, food and lighting a Christmas tree nearly 34 feet high.

"What a great opportunity for Naval District Washington to join together with Navy leadership, our community, international allies and friends, and their families to celebrate this joyous season," said Lindsey. "Each year we look forward to the Washington Navy Yard tree lighting ceremony to strengthen friendships, enjoy excellent company, and celebrate the good in our world."

A yearly NDW tradition is for the foreign naval attaches to participate in the decoration of a smaller tree. Each attache brought a holiday ornament that represented their country and personally placed it on the tree.

"This is the first time I've done this, I've heard a lot of great things about the Christmas [tree] lighting here, and I think it's a nice tradition and it's very well organized," said Denmark Attache Jacob Usoee.

"Danish Christmas tradition is very much influenced by the Germans where the Christmas tree also came from, so what we put on are birds and hearts and it doesn't necessarily represent specifically Denmark but represents more of the whole European tradition."

Kicking off the holiday season with a tree lighting ceremony has been a part of the Washington Navy Yard tradition for more than 30 years. Although there is no specific date etched in history for the first tree lighting ceremony, NDW has used the ceremony not just to celebrate the holidays but also build camaraderie.

"I think events like this are important. We need to have a social environment to bring people together and in a holiday spirit outside of the work environment," said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Ronel Reyes. "

Participants also used the event as an avenue to give to those in need. As always, all attendees were asked to bring an unwrapped gift in support of Toys for Tots.

"It was a very good idea to include Toys for Tots," said Reyes. "I think it's an excellent organization and program. The mission they do is important to provide toys for the children in need during the holidays."

The Christmas tree will remain a permanent fixture at the WNY throughout the holiday season.

For more information about holiday activities within NDW visit http://www.facebook.com/NavDistWash.

For more news from Naval District Washington, visit www.navy.mil/.