1992

Symbolism played an important role in coveying the Pageant's "Exploration" theme in the lighting and design of the 1992 tree.

The tree sparkled with more than 5,000 lights to set off symetric ornaments -- squares, circles and triangles -- depicting the modes of transportation used by explorers throughout history. The squares symbolize sails used to cross seas, the circles represent wheels used for land transit, and the triangles reference the wings of air and space flight.

The tree's all-white appearance is created by 1,0000 crystal lights among garland swags. There are also 1,100 white lights in the ornaments, suggesting the earth's primitive state before exploration.

(President Bush)

[Scanned from original photographic slide.]