The 89th National Tree Lighting Ceremony took place Thursday, December 1 on the Ellipse at President’s Park in Washington, D.C. The ceremony was hosted by Carson Daly and included performances by One Republic, Rodney Atkins and six-time Grammy nominate singer-songwriter Marsha Ambrosius. The event also featured an appearance from Kermit the Frog, who read “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” with First Lady Michelle Obama (he talked about the event during his appearance on CNN earlier that day).

The ceremony marks the beginning of the four-week event sponsored by the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s National Parks. According to the press release, the tree lighting ceremony began with Calvin Coolidge in 1923. After its installment, the tree lighting ceremony has now become an anticipated American holiday tradition.

If you happened to miss the event, you can watch it at thenationaltree.org. Also, if you wish to learn more about the National Park Foundation, go to www.nationalparks.org.

Make sure to check out the pictures of Kermit and the First Lady reading the classic holiday story to the audience below, and if you happened to watch the event, write your opinions about it in the comments section below.