White House tour omits rare 1963 Christmas card

Sun Dec 23, 2007 1:27pm ET

By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of the stops on this year's popular White House tour of holiday decorations is the collection of Christmas cards from previous presidents and first ladies. But noticeably missing is the card from 1963.

It is the rarest and most tragic of the presidential cards because it was not sent out after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas that November 22.

The display features Christmas cards from Dwight Eisenhower through George W. Bush but some visitors on the White House holiday tour have noticed the Kennedys' card is missing. The White House has a copy of it but first lady Laura Bush's office said the 1963 card was not included because it was never sent.