he Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was installed this Saturday in its new home in Manhattan, marking the official start of the Christmas season in New York.
This year’s tree is a Norway spruce 23 meters high, from the town of East Greenbush, in the northern part of the state, near Albany. After it was cut down this week, it traveled about 240 kilometers south in a flatbed truck, piqued the curiosity of those who saw it pass.
Crowds were much larger at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where workers used cranes to lift the 11-ton tree into place, with view of the iconic rink. Dozens of people gathered with coffee and phones in hand as the team secured the tree and began the delicate process of stabilization.
It will soon be decorated with more than 50,000 multi-colored LED lights and topped with a 408-kilogram Swarovski star.
The official lighting will take place on December 3 during a live telecast hosted by country star Reba McEntire. The tree will remain on display until mid-January, when it will be turned into lumber for the nonprofit Habitat for Humanity, which builds affordable housing.
The tree was donated by Judy Russ and her family who said this It was planted by her husband’s great-grandfathers in the 1920s.
“That it’s now become the center of Christmas in New York is amazing,” Russ told 1010 WINS.
The first Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center It was erected by workers in 1931, during the Great Depression, as a gesture to lift spirits. This modest six-meter tall balsam tree was decorated with garlands handmade by the families of the workers.
The tradition continued and in 1933 the official tree lighting ceremony was held for the first time.
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