Ticket Lottery For National Christmas Tree Lighting Starts Today

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA)--It's been a Washington tradition for years.  People line up in the cold on a designated day to get the coveted tickets to the National Christmas Tree Lighting on the Ellipse.

It's a tradition that is about to change, like the White House Easter Egg Roll earlier this year.

If you want the free tickets,  you will have to enter a lottery system November 4-6  (click here for the site to log onto).  This is the first time a lottery has ever been held for the lighting tickets.

The National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will be on Thursday, December 3.  The event signals the beginning of the Pageant of Peace, which runs for 4 weeks.  

The National Park Service and the National Park Foundation sponsor the events. 

The new online lottery will be available beginning at 12:01 am (EST) on Wednesday, November 4th.  The lottery will remain open until 11:59 pm (EST) on Friday, November 6th.

9,800 tickets will be available in the lottery.  2,800 seated and 7,000 standing room.  The standing room tickets are new this year.

If you want tickets, but don't have access to a computer, you can call 877-444-6777 or for TDD call 877-833-6777 beginning November 4-6 to place your name into the lottery.

The National Park Service says all ticket seekers may check the status of their request online or through the call center beginning November 9th.

Tickets will be mailed to lottery seekers by November 15th.

Why a lottery system versus standing in line? The National Park Service tells 9NEWS NOW the lottery opens the ticketing process up to more Americans across the country.

The gates open for the December 3 event for all ticket holders at 3:30pm.

The entertainment for this year's show, before the actual tree lighting, will be announced in November.