Macy's Great Tree facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Macy's Great Tree |
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| Frequency | Annually |
| Venue | Lenox Square mall |
| Location(s) | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Coordinates | 33°50′45″N 84°21′43″W / 33.84591°N 84.36187°W |
| Country | USA |
| Inaugurated | 1948 |
| Founder | Rich's Department Store |
The Macy's Great Tree, once known as the Rich's Great Tree, is a famous Christmas tree tradition in Atlanta, Georgia. It started in 1948 with a huge cut pine tree, about 70 to 90 feet (21 to 27 meters) tall. This special tree was a beloved part of the holiday season for many years. Since 2013, the tradition continues with a smaller, artificial tree.
Contents
History of the Great Tree
How the Tradition Began
The Great Tree tradition started in 1948 at the Rich's department store. They placed a giant pine tree on top of their main store in downtown Atlanta. The tree was lit up on Thanksgiving night. This idea came from Frank Pallotta, who worked in advertising for the store.
The tree was so tall and placed on the roof of the "Crystal Bridge." This bridge connected two parts of the Rich's store. Because of its height and location, people could see the Great Tree from many miles away. It was a truly amazing sight for decades.
Moving the Great Tree's Location
In the early 1990s, the Rich's downtown store closed. The Great Tree had to move to a new spot at Underground Atlanta. Later, it moved again to Lenox Square mall. However, these new locations did not offer the same spectacular view as when it was on the Crystal Bridge.
Over time, more fun things were added around the tree. These included Santa's Workshop with real reindeer. Children could walk through it to visit Santa Claus. Inside the store, there was "Santa's Secret Shop." This was a special shopping area just for kids, where adults were not allowed. The Christmas spirit began right at the street level with animated window displays.
Rich's Becomes Macy's
The Rich's department store chain was sold to Federated Department Stores in 1975. In the early 2000s, Federated began to combine Rich's stores with R.H. Macy's stores. The Rich's stores were first renamed Rich's-Macy's. By January 1, 2006, the Rich's name was completely removed. All stores became known as Macy's. The 2005 holiday season was the last time it was called the "Rich's Great Tree." After that, it became "The Great Tree at Macy's."
Changes to the Tree in Recent Years
After some problems with the real trees in 2011 and 2012, Macy's made a big change. In November 2013, they announced that the Great Tree would be replaced. A smaller, artificial tree would be used instead. This new tree was placed in the mall parking lot. This change ended 65 years of using a real, cut tree.
Macy's plans for the new artificial tree to grow taller over the years. They can add three-foot (nearly one-meter) sections to it. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tree was set up without public viewing.
The Original Great Tree
Until 2012, the Great Tree was always a real eastern white pine. It was usually about 65 to 75 feet (20 to 23 meters) tall. This massive tree needed miles of electrical wires and thousands of lights. It also had hundreds of large ornaments and dozens of strobe lights.
A huge lighted tree topper sat on top, about seven feet (two meters) wide. It used to be a snowflake, but later became a color-changing LED star. The tree needed hundreds of gallons of water every day to stay fresh. It was also secured to withstand strong winds up to 90 miles per hour (145 km/h).
The tree was chosen more than a year before it was cut. This allowed for a backup tree to be ready if anything happened to the first choice. The trees usually came from northern Georgia.
The Pink Pig Ride
The Pink Pig was a special amusement park ride for children. It was a miniature suspended monorail. Kids would sit in enclosed cars that "flew" from the ceiling of the toy department. The original pig was named Priscilla. Later, a second pig named Percival was added because so many children wanted to ride. After their ride, kids received a sticker that said "I rode the Pink Pig."
The ride later moved outside to a Christmas village on the rooftop, near the Great Tree. It would start outside, go indoors over the toy department, and then return outside.
New Location and Design
In the 1990s, the ride moved to the Festival of Trees event. It was then located at the Atlanta History Center. In 2004, the Pink Pig returned to Rich's at Lenox Square mall. This was the new home for the Great Tree.
The new Pink Pig ride is different from the original. It's a train ride at ground level, with a miniature pink pig locomotive pulling pink passenger cars. It's thought that the original monorail design was too difficult to maintain safely.
Fame of the Great Tree
The Great Tree and its bridge were so famous that they were featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1961.
When the Great Tree was at the downtown Rich's store, it was the biggest Christmas attraction in the southeastern United States. Families from all over the South would travel to Atlanta just to see it. Millions of children and their parents visited every year. They would also get their picture taken with the Rich's store Santa Claus.
The Pink Pig ride was also incredibly popular. Many adults who rode the pig as children still remember it fondly. The ride even inspired a book in 2004 called I Rode the Pink Pig: Atlanta's Favorite Christmas Tradition. Today, you can find many souvenirs related to the Great Tree and Pink Pig in Atlanta homes.
The Lighting of the Great Tree
The Ceremony's History
For many years, the grand illumination ceremony happened on Thanksgiving night, no matter the weather. Since the 1980s, the event has been shown on television station WSB-TV. The ceremony includes Christmas carols sung by famous musicians and local groups. A bell choir often performs too.
The tree is lit near the end of the hour, at the highest note of the song "O Holy Night". It stays lit every night until at least New Year's Eve. Since 2012, a fireworks display has followed the lighting.
Changes to the Lighting Time
The ceremony used to be from 7:00 to 8:00 PM. In 2013, it moved an hour earlier because the store opened earlier on Thanksgiving. In 2014, it moved even earlier, so it wasn't fully dark during the lighting.
Because Macy's stores started opening even earlier on Thanksgiving, the 67-year tradition of lighting the tree on Thanksgiving was changed. In 2015, the lighting ceremony moved to the Sunday before Thanksgiving. This allowed the ceremony to return to its traditional time, after sunset.
The Original Ceremony
In the early days, four choirs sang from the Crystal Bridge at the downtown Rich's store. Each of the four floors of choirs sang during the program. Special stained glass panels were placed in the bridge's windows. This gave the ceremony a church-like feeling. Streetlights below were turned off to prevent glare for the thousands of people watching.
The host of these early ceremonies was Bob van Camp from WSB Atlanta radio and television. The ceremony was based on reading the traditional "Christmas Story," about the birth of Christ.
As crowds grew, more choirs were added to the south side of the bridge. For the end of the ceremony, all the bridge choirs were lit up. As the soloist sang the highest note in "O Holy Night," the Great Tree's lights would burst alive.
Music Styles Over Time
Before the 1970s, Christmas carols were sung in a traditional, classical way. In more modern times, they have often been performed in a gospel music style. For example, "O Holy Night" was once sung by an operatic soprano. In 2006, LeAnn Rimes performed it. The 2009 concert included country singer Josh Turner and gospel singer Mandisa.
Other History of the Tree
From Rich's to Macy's
In 2004, it was announced that Rich's stores would become Rich's-Macy's in early 2005. For Christmas that year and the next, the Rich's Great Tree was called the "Great Tree at Macy's."
In 2007, the name changed again to "Macy's Great Tree." This happened after all Rich's stores officially became Macy's. The only visible reminders of Rich's today are the Great Tree tradition and the outside of the original Rich's building.
Trees That Snapped
Sometimes, the real trees had problems. In 2004, the tree from Snellville, Georgia, snapped while workers were lifting it onto the roof with a crane. A backup tree was quickly brought in from Lithia Springs, Georgia. It took many workers weeks to decorate the massive tree. The tree also snapped in 1974. In 2011, a tree from Douglasville, Georgia, cracked when it was being lifted off a truck. Another tree had to be brought in quickly.
Crane Collapse Incident
In January 2013, the crane removing the tree had an accident. The crane's arm broke and collapsed. This caused the tree trunk to crash partly through the roof of the store. The men's department on the third floor had a lot of water damage from broken fire sprinkler pipes. Luckily, no one was hurt. This happened early in the morning before the store opened. Workers had to cut the tree into pieces after removing its lights and ornaments.
