President Obama is expected to vacation in Hawaii from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2, continuing a holiday tradition for the president and his family.

Obama, who was born in Hawaii and graduated from Punahou School, has not been back to the Islands since being sworn in as president. He was president-elect when he and his family had a 12-day vacation at a beachfront home in Kailua last December, and still a candidate when he visited his dying grandmother in October 2008 and enjoyed a summer break and local fundraiser in August 2008.

Obama is expected to fly to Honolulu on Dec. 23 and return to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 2, several sources have said, spending the Christmas and New Year’s holidays in the Islands. The president does not have any public events on his schedule.

A White House spokesman would not officially confirm the visit.

Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, died in November 2008, and his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, has temporarily moved to Washington, so the president does not have a direct family tie to the Islands this year.

Brian Schatz, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, could not confirm the Obama visit but said if the president does vacation here it shows his connection to home.

“Whenever he visits, everyone in Hawaii is reminded of how proud we are of his strong roots in his home state,” Schatz said. “I think the connection between Hawaii and the president is strong, in both directions."