Before the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony is broadcast on national TV, it is filmed about a week in advance, rain or shine. This year, on Nov. 30, the choir from Mount Calvary Parish in Forestville, Maryland had the opportunity to sing holiday songs in the National Christmas Tree Lighting: Celebrating 100 Years’ pre-show.

The weather cycled through dark, gray and cloudy skies with pockets of sunlight peeking through between light showers. Attendees of the annual 2022 National Christmas Tree Lighting filled the rows of seats at The Ellipse, a park south of the White House. 

Gail Ruffin, the director of music at Mount Calvary Parish, told the Catholic Standard that although she has led the choir in various performances for almost a decade, this has been their biggest venue to date – the White House Christmas Tree Lighting’s main stage.

“It was a wonderful, exciting thrill. I am so glad we were able to participate and to represent not only Mount Calvary but also the other churches in the Archdiocese of Washington,” Ruffin said. She was given three weeks' notice about the event, including background checks.

“We received emails, one was from the White House, for the Secret Service, and then the other was a regular clearance,” Ruffin said. “All of us who participated had to be vetted.”

The group of six belted five songs, including “Jingle Bells,” “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,”   and “We Three Kings.”

“I loved the audience, with the expressions on their faces as we were singing, some of them were moving back and forth, smiling, it made us feel like we were touching their hearts,” Ruffin said. 

Singing is deeply personal to Ruffin, who said she had a close brush with death that resulted in her refocusing her goals.

“God is my everything. In 2016, my heart stopped, I was pronounced dead, but God had another plan because I woke up, and I made a promise that the rest of my life would be dedicated to singing and hopefully saving souls,” Ruffin said. 

Longtime Mount Calvary parishioner Richard Landon dressed up as Santa Claus for the performance and also serves as a member of the parish’s finance committee and is an occasional communications liaison for the choir.

After a few songs were performed, “Santa” shared a few words on stage with Channel 9’s Annie Yu and Chester Lampkin who hosted the pre-lighting ceremony. Giving his back to the crowd, Landon joked that “Santa’s back.”

Landon said the exposure is essential to the choir because it helps bring attention to their efforts.

“Whether we’re on the Ed Brown Show with the kids, or doing the Pageant of Peace…[or] the pre-show at the Christmas Tree Lighting, it gives them something special for all their hard work all through the year, when they’re at church each week,” Landon said. “It’s also a way of letting people know, hey, there’s Mount Calvary, they’re doing things, they’ve got a great choir.”

The Mount Calvary Choir shared the backstage with fellow performers, including host LL Cool Jay. Performers for the main show included Shania Twain, the Estefan family, Andy Grammer, Ariana DeBose, Yolanda Adams, Joss Stone, and the president’s own U.S. Marine Band.