WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., celebrated the start of the Christmas season by decorating his Washington, D.C., office Christmas tree with handcrafted, Mississippi-themed ornaments created by students from Clinton High School in Clinton, Miss.

“We’ve found that it’s a great way to showcase Mississippi as well as our high school students,” Wicker said.

The students created 30 ornaments crafted from wood and 3D-printed plastics depicting various aspects of Mississippi history and culture, including legendary blues artist B.B. King’s guitar and civil rights icons.

“We’ve decorated our tree once again with ornaments involving our state of Mississippi, telling a little about our story, about all the interesting things that we do and make and grow, and also all the interesting people that come out of this great little postage stamp of real estate called Mississippi,” Wicker said.

This is the second year that Wicker has asked one Mississippi school to create unique ornaments for visitors to his Washington, D.C., office to enjoy.

Wicker credits his wife, Gayle, with the idea for the Christmas celebration. Last year’s ornaments were provided by Gulfport High School and celebrated Mississippi’s bicentennial.

Download high resolution photos below.