Holiday cheer begins with the lighting of this NYC landmark.
Some say the end of Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the Christmas season. Still, real New Yorkers know that Christmas season begins with the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. The yearly tree lighting bewilders onlookers with multiple light spectacles, amassing roughly 125 million tourists each year, making it one of the most popular giant commercial Christmas trees in the world. Before you mask-up and go see this year’s tree, here are some facts you may not have known about the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.
1. The First Tree’s Merry Beginnings
The first Rockefeller Christmas Tree was erected in 1931, amid the Great Depression. During that demoralizing time, workers – who were grateful for work – installed the 20-foot tree on Christmas Eve and decorated it with their own garlands, streamers and ornaments. Two years later, Rockefeller Center honored the tradition and put up a 50-foot tree with 700 lights, staging the first tree lighting ceremony.
2. Skating Rink
FACEBOOK Rockefeller CenterAfter three consecutive years of displaying the Christmas Tree, Rockefeller Center introduced its new “skating ponds” and the tree’s traditional lighting in 1936. The occasion was even marked by a skating pageant. Rockefeller’s temporary ice rink was a massive hit and has continued for the past 80 years.
3. 2020: A Different Kind of Ceremony
FACEBOOK Rockefeller CenterDue to COVID-19, the 2020 Christmas Tree ceremony was the first one closed to the public. Live viewings have been popular since the first televised screening during The Kate Smith Show in 1951. However, 2020 marks the new age of corona-culture, affecting the tree lighting tradition. The typically packed Rockefeller plaza will be quiet as only performers, crew and workers are allowed to witness the illumination up close and in-person.
4. 1991’s Giant Tree!
Image by @huefnerdesign from UnsplashThe tallest elm to be plucked from home and brought to Rockefeller Center was gargantuan 100-foot Norway-spruce from Killingworth, Connecticut.
5. What’s a Tree Without a Topper?
In 2019, the 77-foot Norway Spruce from Florida, NY, dawned a 900-pound Swarovski crystal tree topper. The tree topper, designed by Daniel Libeskind, was covered in over three million Swarovski crystals.
6. Canada’s Spirit of the season.
UNSPLASH Hermes RiveraIn 1966, the Canadian Petawawa Forest Preserve provided a 64-foot white spruce transported 550 miles from Thousand Island Bridge to NYC!
7. Patriotism When We Needed it Most
UNSPLASH Wesley TingeyOnly on two occasions has the Rockefeller Christmas Tree been lit without the country’s color. In 1942, when rations and regulations prevented the tree’s proper material from being used during World War II. The plaza was decorated with three smaller treats each lit up with a shade of the national color.
8. The Green Switch
UNSPLASH Greg RosenkeIn 2007, it was announced that the Christmas tree would replace incandescent lights with LED lights from then onward. The switch reduced the tree’s electricity consumption from 3,510 to 1,297 kWh per day!
9. Credentials
Image by @johnell_pannell from UnsplashThe Rockefeller Christmas Tree is the perfect example of a big, jolly Christmas tree. Spruce owners worldwide hope to one day grow a spruce tree good enough to be considered for the Rockefeller Plaza. To fit the credentials for a Rockefeller Tree, the entrant tree, the species should ideally be Norway Spruce, at least 75-feet tall, and is either from New York, the surrounding East Coast, or sometimes Canada. The tree is scouted by the head gardener, Erik Pauze, and his team.
10. Charitable donation!
After the Christmas season is over, the Rockefeller Tree is taken down and donated to charity. In 2020, the tree will be donated to Habitat for Humanity for lumber to make new homes!
