Christmas

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Gunnar Tokar, 15, of Damascus, Md. polishes his tuba before the start of the rehearsal for Tuba Christmas 2012 at the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center. They rehearsed for two hours before performing on the Millennium Stage at 6 p.m. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Tom Newman of Ashburn, Va. turns on the Christmas lights on his tuba before the start of the rehearsal for Tuba Christmas at the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Students from Westfield High School in Centreville, Va., including (from left, Cathryn Kost, 16, Abigail Perez, 15, and Joseph Drzemiecki, 17, wait with their tubas in the Grand Foyer of the Kennedy Center for the start of the rehearsal for Tuba Christmas on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. Hundreds of tuba players came to the Kennedy Center Thursday to participate in Tuba Christmas, a concert that originated in 1974 as a tribute to the late artist/teacher William J. Bell, who was born on Christmas Day in 1902. Participants were asked to wear bright colors. They rehearsed for two hours before performing on the Millennium Stage at 6 p.m. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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A giant Santa Claus stands amid other Christmas decorations outside a home in Brookyn, where neighbors dress up their yards and home exteriors in grand style. (Associated Press)

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Join Ronnie Spector at the Howard Theatre on Saturday evening for her Christmas Party concert, which she's been performing since 1988, and rock around the Christmas tree to holiday favorites as well as songs from her girl group days

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Illustration Meaning of Christmas by Alexander Hunter for The Washington Times

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** FILE ** A Christmas wreath is displayed on the second-floor porch railing of a home adjacent to the fire-damaged zone in the Breezy Point section of the New York borough of Queens on Friday, Dec. 7, 2012. More than 100 homes burned to the ground during Superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

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President Obama, third from left, with his daughters Malia Obama, from left, and Sasha Obama, join host, from third right to right, Conan O'Brien, singer Megan Hilty, South Korean rapper Psy and other performers, during the Annual Christmas in Washington presentation at the National Building Museum in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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Theater: Irving Berlin's "White Christmas"

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Charlie Brown and Linus are in a pensive mood for the holiday in "Charlie Brown Christmas."

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Singers Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat rehearse Dec. 6, 2012, for the lighting of the National Christmas tree on the Ellipse in downtown D.C. later that evening. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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A television cameraman is silhouetted in between the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial on Dec. 6, 2012, as he films the rehearsal for the lighting of the National Christmas tree on the Ellipse in downtown D.C. later that evening. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Members of the Washington Performing Arts Society gospel choir wait to take the stage Dec. 6, 2012, to rehearse for the lighting of the National Christmas tree on the Ellipse in downtown D.C. later that evening. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Members of the Washington Performing Arts Society gospel choir wait to take the stage Dec. 6, 2012, to rehearse for the lighting of the National Christmas tree on the Ellipse in downtown D.C. later that evening. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)