    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [December 6, 1995]
    [Pages 1855-1856]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Lighting the National Christmas Tree
    December 6, 1995

        Thank you so much. To John Betchkal, the Pageant of Peace Chairman;
    Reverend John Tavlarides; to the Sherando High School Choir,
    congratulations, you guys were great tonight; to Brendan and Bridget
    Walsh; the Washington Ballet; to Denyce Graves and Jack Jones and Kathie
    Lee Gifford and the Navy Band; and of course, to Santa Claus. I would
    come here every year just to see Santa Claus.
        We gather to begin our Nation's celebration of the Christmas season
    with the lighting of this magnificent tree, a symbol, as evergreens have
    always been, of the infinite capacity of nature and people to renew
    themselves. We give gifts, and we count our blessings.
        My fellow Americans, I have just returned from a very moving trip to
    Europe, to England and to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland,
    to Germany to see our troops, and to Spain. And I can tell you that
    among the things that I feel most grateful for at this Christmas time is
    the way people around the world look at our America. They see a nation
    graced by peace and prosperity, a land of freedom and fairness. And even
    though it imposes extra burdens on us, they trust us to work with them
    to share the blessings of peace.
        This is my second Christmas tree lighting of the season, for just a
    few days ago I was in Belfast with the people of Northern Ireland,
    Protestant and Catholic alike, searching, yearning, longing for peace,
    celebrating their second Christmas of peace. I'm proud that I was
    introduced there by two children, a little Catholic girl named Catherine
    Hamill and a young Protestant boy named David Sterritt, who joined hands
    and told the world of their hopes for the future, a future in which the
    only barriers they face are the limits of their dreams. That is the
    future we should want for our children and for all the children of the
    world.
        I'm very pleased that Catherine Hamill, who touched the whole world
    with the story of her suffering and her family's losses in Northern
    Ireland, and her family are here with us tonight to celebrate this
    lighting of the Christmas tree. And I'd like to ask her to stand up
    right down here and ask all of you to give her a fine hand. She has come
    all the way from Northern Ireland. [Applause]

    [[Page 1856]]

        Remember at this Christmas time we celebrate the birth of a homeless
    child, whose only shelter was the straw of a manger but who grew to
    become the Prince of Peace. The Prince of Peace said, ``Blessed are the
    peacemakers.'' Let us bless the peacemakers at this Christmas time from
    the Middle East to Northern Ireland to our own troops in Bosnia. Let us
    pray especially for our peacemakers, those who will go to Bosnia and
    those who are soon to come home from Haiti.
        And let us resolve, my fellow Americans, to be peacemakers. For just
    as so many nations around the world and so many children around the
    world cry for peace, so do we need peace here at home in our toughest
    neighborhoods, where there are children, so many children who deserve to
    have their childhood and their future free and peaceful.
        And let us remember from the example of the Prince of Peace how even
    the humblest of us can do, through acts of goodness and reconciliation,
    extraordinary things. And as we light this wonderful Christmas tree, let
    us all remember that together a million small lights add up to make a
    great blaze of glory, not for ourselves but for our families, our Nation
    and the world, and for the future of our children.
        Merry Christmas, and blessed are the peacemakers.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:45 p.m. on the Ellipse during the annual
    Christmas Pageant of Peace. In his remarks, he referred to Rev. John
    Tavlarides, who recited the Christmas prayer; Brendan and Bridget Walsh,
    Camp Fire Boys and Girls, Pittsburgh, PA; entertainers Denyce Graves,
    Jack Jones, and Kathie Lee Gifford; and television weatherman Willard
    Scott.