Annual White House Christmas ornament honors state dinner culinary diplomacy

WASHINGTON (AP) — The art of culinary diplomacy, practiced by presidents at White House state dinners for more than 150 years, is the theme of this year's official White House Christmas ornament.

Unveiled on Thursday by the White House Historical Association, the ornament's design features the red china plate of Ronald Reagan's administration on one side and the gold-rimmed china plate of Bill Clinton's on the other.

First issued in 1981, the annual ornament typically features the presidents in their order of service. Last year's was a tribute to Jimmy Carter in the shape of an anchor to recognize his service in the Navy.

But the ornament sometimes is used to highlight important White House anniversaries or occasions, said association president Stewart McLaurin. For example, the ornament in 2000 highlighted the 200th anniversary of the White House. Next year's will mark America's 250th birthday.

“Presidents will resume, or pick up, or continue at some point, but when we have a moment to highlight significant anniversaries or occasions at the White House itself, we don't want to miss that opportunity, also,” McLaurin said.

President Ulysses Grant hosted the first White House state dinner for King David Kalakaua, one of the last monarchs of the Hawaiian Kingdom, in December 1874. Nearly 400 have been held since then, McLaurin said.

President Donald Trump held two state dinners in his first term, for France and Australia. A third one, for Spain, in 2020 was canceled due to the spread of COVID-19. There's been no word yet on how soon Trump might hold another one now that he's back in office.

State dinners have grown in stature and size since the first one held by Grant.

“State dinners are an important part of the American diplomatic process,” McLaurin said in an interview. “It’s an opportunity for our presidents to establish friendships with heads of state through the extension of hospitality. They’re not just fancy parties.”

They are the highest diplomatic honor the United States has to recognize close allies and dazzle their leaders with an evening of first-rate food, decor and entertainment in the company of hundreds of invited guests. The glitzy affairs close a state visit that begins with an elaborate arrival ceremony for the visiting leader on the White House lawn.

The White House Historical Association is a privately funded, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that raises money mostly through private donations and sales of retail merchandise, including the annual Christmas ornament. First lady Jacqueline Kennedy created the association in 1961 to help preserve the White House interior and educate the public.

White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin poses with the 2025 White House Christmas ornament, seen both front and back, in front of a display of White House china, Thursday, April 10, 2025, at the association in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The front and back of the 2025 White House Christmas ornament is pictured with the box and information packet, Thursday, April 10, 2025, at the association in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin poses with the 2025 White House Christmas ornament, seen both front and back, in front of a display of White House china, Thursday, April 10, 2025, at the association in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin poses with the 2025 White House Christmas ornament, seen both front and back, Thursday, April 10, 2025, at the association in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin poses with the 2025 White House Christmas ornament, seen at front and back, Thursday, April 10, 2025, at the association in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

FILE - The new White House china, chosen by first lady Nancy Reagan and purchased for $209,509 through private donations, is unveiled to the press at the White House in Washington, Feb. 3, 1982. The china, as laid out for a state dinner, includes 220 place settings with 4,372 pieces. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)

FILE - Gold china commissioned under the President Bill Clinton administration to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the White House, is seen with place settings for President George W. Bush, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, right, before official dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House, June 29, 2006, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - The new White House china, chosen by first lady Nancy Reagan and purchased for $209,509 through private donations, is unveiled to the press at the White House in Washington, Feb. 3, 1982. The china, as laid out for a state dinner, includes 220 place settings with 4,372 pieces. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An independent counsel on Tuesday demanded a death sentence for former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on rebellion charges in connection with his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024.

Removed from office last April, Yoon faces eight trials over various criminal charges related to his martial law debacle and other scandals related to his time in office. Charges that he directed a rebellion are the most significant ones.

Independent counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team requested the Seoul Central District Court to sentence Yoon to death, according to the court.

The Seoul court is expected to deliver a verdict on Yoon in February. Experts say the court likely will sentence him to life in prison. South Korea hasn't executed anyone since 1997.

Yoon was scheduled to make remarks at Tuesday's hearing. He has maintained that his decree was a desperate yet peaceful attempt to raise public awareness about what he considered the danger of the liberal opposition Democratic Party, which used its legislative majority to obstruct his agenda. He called the opposition-controlled parliament “a den of criminals” and “anti-state forces.”

Yoon’s decree, the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea, brought armed troops into Seoul streets to encircle the assembly and enter election offices. That evoked traumatic memories of dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s, when military-backed rulers used martial law and other emergency decrees to station soldiers and armored vehicles in public places to suppress pro-democracy protests.

On the night of Yoon's martial law declaration, thousands of people rushed to the National Assembly to object to the decree and demand his resignation in dramatic scenes. Enough lawmakers, including even those in Yoon’s ruling party, managed to enter an assembly hall to vote down the decree.

Observers described Yoon’s action as political suicide. Parliament impeached him and sent the case to the Constitutional Court, which ruled to dismiss him as president.

It was a spectacular downfall for Yoon, a former star prosecutor who won South Korea’s presidency in 2022, a year after entering politics.

Lee Jae Myung, a former Democratic Party leader who led Yoon's impeachment bid, became president by winning a snap election last June. After taking office, Lee appointed three independent counsels to delve into allegations involving Yoon, his wife and associates.

There had been speculation that Yoon resorted to martial law to protect his wife, Kim Keon Hee, from potential corruption investigations. But in wrapping up a six-month investigation last month, independent counsel Cho’s team concluded that Yoon plotted for over a year to impose martial law to eliminate his political rivals and monopolize power.

Yoon’s decree and ensuing power vacuum plunged South Korea into political turmoil, halted the country’s high-level diplomacy and rattled its financial markets.

Yoon’s earlier vows to fight attempts to impeach and arrest him deepened the country’s political divide. In January last year, he became the country’s first sitting president to be detained.

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside of Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

FILE - Then South Korea's ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol who is facing charges of orchestrating a rebellion when he declared martial law on Dec. 3, arrives to attend his trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, Pool, File)