At this year’s national Christmas tree lighting ceremony, President Donald Trump wished the nation and the world a Merry Christmas, noting that the birth of Jesus Christ “forever changed the course of human history.”

“Today is a day that I’ve been looking very much forward to all year long.  It’s one that we have heard and we speak about and we dream about.  And now, as the President of the United States, it’s my tremendous honor to finally wish America and the world, a very merry Christmas,” he said.

The President recalled 1870 legislation signed by President Ulysses S. Grant making Christmas a federal holiday. “And I sort of feel we’re doing that again. That’s what’s happening,” he said.

Since the birth of the nation, he said, “Americans have known Christmas as a time for prayer and worship, for gratitude and goodwill, for peace and renewal.”

“Melania and I are full of joy at the start of this very blessed season, Trump said, “the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

“We’re thrilled to think of the people, across the nation and all across the continents, whose spirits are lifted by the miracle of Christmas,” he said.

The birth of Jesus Christ “forever changed the course of human history,” Trump noted. “There is hardly an aspect of our lives today that his life has not touched: art, music, culture, law, and our respect for the sacred dignity of every person everywhere in the world.”

“Each and every year at Christmas time, we recognize that the real spirit of Christmas is not what we have, it’s about who we are,” he said. “Each one of us is a child of God. That is the true source of joy this time of the year. That is what makes every Christmas merry.”

The President underscored the message at the heart of this “holy season,” namely, “that we are called to serve one another, to love one another, and to pursue peace in our hearts and all throughout the world.”

Mr. Trump also took the occasion to thank the “millions of Americans who light our lives and brighten our wonderful communities.”

In particular, he thanked those who are serving the needy, our military men and women who are stationed around the world, keeping us safe, our law enforcement officers who protect our streets and secure our homeland, as well as America’s teachers, pastors, and all those religious and those people that have taught us so much, for their leadership in our communities and our society.

As a final word of gratitude, the President thanked America’s families. “At Christmas, we are reminded more than ever that the family is the bedrock of American life,” he said.

“And so, this Christmas, we ask for God’s blessings for our family and for our nation,” he said. “And we pray that our country will be a place where every child knows a home filled with love, a community rich with hope, and a nation blessed with faith.”

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