If you can’t check out this year’s Christmas decorations at the White House in person then you might be interested to learn that for the first time ever the White House is using holiday ornaments of Arab American heritage.

More than 50,000 visitors will tour the White House this holiday season to see the holiday ornaments and the handiwork of the staff of the East Wing and 92 volunteers from 24 states. Together, they worked 3,400 hours to put together the traditional holiday decorations. “The Arab American Institute participated as part of an effort to involve America’s communities in creating designs for a White House ‘ethnic’ Christmas tree,” said Christina Zola, AAI’s director of communications.

“Design ideas were submitted by AAI members in response to a memo, and we had dozens of responses. Everyone was very excited about it. The ornaments were implemented and made by AAI Executive Director, James Zogby’s wife and daughter, Eileen and Sarah Zogby, and members of the AAI staff,” said Zola, who said one AAI staff member brought her six-year-old son to the office to participate in creating the ornaments.

The ornaments were constructed using decoupage, and the materials include papyrus, ornamental papers, graphics designed on the computer and then applied to the forms, and hand-drawn images. The Arab American ornaments include a Bethlehem scene; another has doves and the word “peace” in English and Arabic. One Christmas ornament has Arabian horse heads on it, another — what else? — depicts Camels.

“We were invited to do this because Zogby is the secretary of the National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Committee, NDECC, a working group of the Democratic Party that deals specifically with ethnic outreach and involvement,” said Zola.

“What is unique this year is that the Obamas wanted a community tree that recognizes the contributions of diverse communities in America and their heritage,” Zogby told Arab News.

“So there, amongst others, Polish, Albanian, and the Irish, to name a few, are the Arab American contributions. My office wrote to Arab Americans across the country and asked them what themes they wanted to be put on the ornaments, and our office created them along with my wife and daughter.

“What’s important is that this Christmas, which is very special for the White House, is that these ornaments are of our heritage, Bethlehem and Peace are hanging on the White House trees. Many people in the community noticed it and felt very good about it because it’s our tree, too,” said Zogby.

For more on the White House holiday decorations, click: http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/

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