Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

The tree, usually a Norway spruce 69 to 100 feet tall, has been a national tradition each year since 1933. The 2020 Christmas Tree Lighting will take place on December 2, 2020 and the tree will remain on display until early January 2021. The first Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center was erected in 1931 during the Depression-era construction of Rockefeller Center.

About Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in brief

Summary Rockefeller Center Christmas TreeThe Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is a large Christmas tree placed annually in Rockefeller Center, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The tree, usually a Norway spruce 69 to 100 feet tall, has been a national tradition each year since 1933. The 2020 Christmas Tree Lighting will take place on December 2, 2020 and the tree will remain on display until early January 2021. The first Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center was erected in 1931, during the Depression-era construction of Rockefeller Center. Workers pooled their money for that unlit tree, with the garlands made by workers’ families. From 1944 until the war’s end in 1945, the tree went unlit due to blackout regulations. After the war, the year of darkness was left behind, as six ultraviolet light projectors were employed to make it appear as though the tree’s 700 fluorescent globes were glowing in the dark.

In 1969, artist Valerie Clarebout’s towering wire angels were added to the tree near Fifth Avenue. In 1971, a 65-foot tree was turned into three mulch bags and recycled into mulch for the first time. It was the first tree to be mulched and recycled for a special televised tree lighting with a special on The Kate Smith Show. In 2013, a new crystal star of Swarovski crystal which tops the tree was created in 2018 and designed by the renowned architect Daniel Liebeskind. The new luminous stellar body features 70 spikes and three million crystals with LED lighting spots by the company Oznium. In total it weighs 900 pounds.