Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree Lighting
Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree Lighting
Observed annually during late November or early December, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting is an annual tree lighting ceremony that symbolizes the holiday season in New York City. Standing tall among the Skyscrapers it adds magic to the city’s celebrations! If you are visiting Manhattan this is something you cannot miss!
Why Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree Lighting?
The Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree lighting is one of the many things that you can enjoy freely in Manhattan this holiday season! It is a tradition that traces back to the year 1932.
From the beginning, the Tree was a reflection of what was happening in the world and around it and also a place of gathering. The workers lined up under the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Plaza construction site even before the first formal tree went up and collected their paychecks during the height of the Great Depression. After September 11th people from around the world came to visit the tree which was decorated in patriotic red, white, and blue. Presently, almost more than half a million people pass by the Tree every day, making Rockefeller Center the epicenter of New York City’s holiday celebrations.
The Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree is always the Spruce. In recent years it has been 90 feet tall but it is required to be at least 75 feet tall with a diameter of 45 feet. Since the Spruce that grows in the Norway forest doesn’t fit the requirements of this event, the Christmas trees are always chosen from private properties.
The best Spruce is chosen from one of them but they will not be getting any compensation except for feeling proud in their contribution to the City’s most popular tree this Christmas season!
Now, for the thirteenth consecutive year, the Christmas Tree will be donated to Habitat for Humanity. Once the crowds have dispersed and holidays have passed, the tree is taken down and is treated, milled, and made into timber that is used mostly for the construction industry but also some hardwood which is used for high-grade flooring.
Every year, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has been and continues to be a symbol of hope, and also inspired the children’s book The Carpenter’s Gift’ authored by David Rubel and illustrated by Jim LaMarche.
How Can We Observe the Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree Lighting?
-As the event attracts crowds, have a plan, and be early to the event to have a good time.
-Besides attending the ceremony, the Rockefeller Center offers you a variety of options to enjoy your time here:-
- You can visit the Top of the Rock to get a good view of the hustling New York City at the observatory.
- Take a paid tour of the Radio City Music Hall.
- Take a “Pay What You Wish Guided Tour” of Midtown Manhattan.
- Visit the St. Patricks’ Cathedral Located right across the street from Rockefeller Center.
- Visit the Museum of Modern Art
- Ice skating at Rockefeller center and other rinks.
-Don’t forget to use #RockefellerCentreChristmasTreeLighting to post your favorite moments of the evening.
Interesting Facts About Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree Lighting:
Here are eight interesting facts about the Rockefeller center for Christmas tree lighting:
- The first Rockefeller Christmas tree was 20-foot tall in 1931 and now, the ideal tree is up to 75 feet tall.
- Every year the tree gets 2.5 million viewers and more than 50,000 visitors in a day.
- The glittering tree weights about 13 tons
- The tree is donated every year from various places, but the most common places being New York and Pennsylvania.
- The sparking star tree topper is made from 25,000 Swarovski crystals and costs 1.5 million dollars and weighs 900 pounds.
- Approximately 50,000 LED lights are used to light up the tree branches and 7 miles of electrical wire is used!
- The spruces can grow for more than 90 years which is older than the ceremony itself.
- At the end of the holidays, the tree is milled into lumber and then donated to build a home with each wood stamped “Rockefeller Center Tree”.
History Of Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree Lighting :
In 1931 the first Christmas tree at Rockefeller Centre was erected during the Great Depression when the Rockefeller Center was being constructed. The workers contributed their money, together they purchased a Christmas tree. It was a 20-foot tall Balsam fir that was decorated with Strings of cranberries, tins, and other home-made garlands which became a ray of hope to the workers and their families during the Great Depression. The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting has become a tradition since then.