It was a sad day for the National Christmas Tree yesterday. The Post reports that the 28-foot-tall Colorado spruce died and had to be cut down Saturday morning after being in the Ellipse, just south of the White House, for only a year. more ›

Oh wait, that's just the lighting of the National Christmas Tree, scheduled to begin this evening at 5 p.m. on the Ellipse. more ›

It's almost time for Christmas, and the National Christmas Tree is slowly taking shape. more ›

Today is All Saints Day, which, according to the laws of American consumerism, means it's time for everyone to start thinking about Christmas. (I know, it's pretty gross.) more ›

Good morning Washington. While this weekend won't be as warm as yesterday, we'll still hit the 60s today as we officially transition into Spring tomorrow. Also, don't miss tonight's super full moon, it was already pretty big last night. more ›

The strong winds have claimed their first casualty: the National Christmas Tree. The DC Fire EMS Twitter stream reported that the tree has split at its base, and that no one was injured when it fell. The tree's falling also did not cause any structural damage to any of the surrounding buildings. more ›

When Sheryl Crow dedicated her first song to the troops, I mentally composed a letter to Santa Claus. -star Jordin Sparks, hot Hobbit-music troupe Celtic Woman, an Internet meme and the "President's Own" U.S. Marine Band -- performing a Starbucks mix's worth of holiday cheer to celebrate the lighting of the National Christmas Tree. more ›

As we mentioned already, tonight is the annual National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on the Ellipse. The event starts at 5 p.m., and if you've never ended up stuck in the horror show that is downtown traffic near the White House during this event, be forewarned: it's always a disaster. Road closures, parking restrictions, and streams of pedestrians filling the adjacent streets will all combine tonight for a nice big chorus of honking horns to go along with those silver bells. So take note of all these advisories, and if your office is anywhere in the vicinity, ask if you can go home early today. more ›

Many of you were unhappy with the outcome of this year's new lottery system to get tickets to the traditional White House Easter Egg Roll. Just read through the comments of this post for an idea of how annoyed local folks were that the ticketing system was opened up to the entire country, via the Internet. Then get ready to do the same thing all over again for the lighting of the White House Christmas tree. more ›

Produced by DCist Contributor Meredith Bragg more ›

We already warned you, but just in case you are, for some totally insane reason, thinking of trying to drive or take a taxi anywhere near the White House in the next four hours, just say no! The National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony/pageant starts in one hour. Streets will be closed. Pedestrians will be EVERYWHERE. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to travel by motor vehicle through this part of downtown. Thanks for your cooperation. more ›

The National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony and the "Pageant of Peace" are set for tomorrow night at 5 p.m. Over at City Desk yesterday, Jule Banville hit the nail on the head by dubbing the Bush Christmas tree the "National Hairnet." Here's hoping she's right, and the Obamas will choose a Christmas tree decorating scheme that looks a little bit less like a "twinkling condom." more ›

So full of Christmas cheer was the air around the White House yesterday that it even caused a massive traffic jam. Oh, wait -- that was actually the road closures around the White House, and most of the drivers stuck in the hours-long commute out of the District were anything but cheery. more ›

Damn alarms. We're a little late on flipping through our newspaper this morning, so stay tuned as we live-blog the news. 9:29 a.m.: Since Adrian Fenty doesn't already have enough to do, he'll be fielding questions in an online chat over at the Post at 11 a.m. We'd like to know how he can spend the time keeping his head so nicely shorn when we're still trying to balance sleep, work, and shaving once... more ›

(From DCist contributor Amadie Hart) more ›

With the holiday season upon us, DCist is bracing for the usual phalanx of seasonal activities. There's a number of events around the mall of interest. more ›

DCist has to say that your questions were scarce last week. We will blame the short holiday week and vacation brain. As always, if anything is troubling you, anything at all, even if it isn't D.C.-centric, toss it our way at ask [at] dcist [dot] com and we'll attempt to answer, or at least entertain you in the mangled process of answering. If you have queried and have gotten no answer, don't despair. Some queries... more ›