This December 1, 2011 file photo shows the 2011 National Christmas Tree after being lit by US President Barack Obama and the First Family during a ceremony on The Ellipse near the White House in Washington, DC. The Colorado blue spruce passed away "due to complications resulting from transplant shock" just 14 months after it was planted in the Ellipse field outside the White House, the National Park Service said May 4, 2012. Born on a tree farm in New Jersey, it replaced a similar tree knocked down in a wind storm after 33 years.
