Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree facts for kids
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is a huge Christmas tree that is put up every year in Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The tree is usually set up in mid-November. Its lights are turned on in a public ceremony on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving.
Since 1997, the tree lighting has been shown live on NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center TV show. Millions of people watch it! The ceremony happens at the end of the broadcast, after live performances. The Mayor of New York City and special guests turn on the lights. About 125 million people visit the tree each year.
The tree is usually a Norway spruce and stands about 69 to 100 feet (21 to 30 m) tall. It has been a national tradition since 1933. In 2020, the tree lighting happened on December 2, but without the usual crowd because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tree stayed lit until January 2, 2021.
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Choosing and Decorating the Tree
Trees for Rockefeller Center are usually given as gifts. After the display, the wood from the tree is donated for other uses. For many years, a manager named David Murbach looked for the perfect tree in upstate New York and nearby states, and even in Ottawa, Canada.
Today, Erik Pauzé, the Head Gardener at Rockefeller Center, searches for the tree. He visits tree farms and even looks for special trees in people's backyards. People can also suggest their trees on Rockefeller Center's website. Erik and his team pick the tree based on how strong it is, its "Christmas tree shape," and if it can hold many heavy decorations.
Once a tree is chosen, a crane helps cut it down. Then, it's moved onto a special trailer that can carry trees up to 125 feet (38 m) tall. However, the streets around Rockefeller Center are narrow, so the tree can't be taller than 100 feet (30 m). A local company, Christmas Tree Brooklyn, brings the tree to the city. On its way, the tree often has big red bows or banners with holiday greetings. Trucks, boats, and even a plane have been used to transport the tree!
When the tree arrives at Rockefeller Center, it's held up by four strong wires in the middle and a steel spike at its base. Workers build scaffolding around the tree to help them hang about 50,000 colorful LED lights. The star on top of the tree is new since 2018. It was designed by famous architect Daniel Libeskind and is made of Swarovski crystals. This shiny star has 70 spikes and three million crystals, with LED lights inside. It weighs a lot – 900 pounds (408 kg)!
A Look Back at the Tree's History
The very first Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center was put up in 1931. This was during the Great Depression, when the Rockefeller Center buildings were being built. Workers decorated a small 20-foot (6.1 m) balsam fir with "strings of cranberries, paper garlands, and even a few tin cans" on Christmas Eve. Two years later, the first official tree, which was 50 feet (15 m) tall, was lit. Rockefeller Center called it "a holiday beacon for New Yorkers and visitors alike." A skating rink opened below the tree in 1936.
Since then, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has been a yearly tradition. The workers in 1931 even put their money together to buy that first unlit tree. Their families made the garlands. The Rockefeller Center website says the tree has always been "a gathering place and reflection of what was happening in the world around it."
During World War II, the decorations were simple and patriotic. They used red, white, and blue unlit globes and painted wooden stars. In 1942, instead of one big tree, three smaller trees were put up, each decorated in one of the flag's colors. From 1944 to 1945, the tree was not lit because of wartime blackout rules. After the war, in 1946, special ultraviolet lights made the tree's 700 glowing globes shine in the dark.
By the 1950s, workers started using scaffolding to decorate the tree because the trees were getting bigger. It took 20 workers nine days to decorate a tree! In 1951, NBC first showed the tree lighting on TV during The Kate Smith Show. In 1969, beautiful wire angels by artist Valerie Clarebout were added to the Channel Gardens in front of the tree.
The 1971 tree was the first to be recycled. It was turned into mulch for nature trails in Manhattan. While the tree usually travels by truck, in 1998, one tree was flown in from Ohio on the world's largest transport plane! The tallest tree ever was in 1999, a 100-foot (30 m) spruce from Connecticut.
In 2001, after the September 11 attacks, the tree was again decorated in red, white, and blue colors. In 2007, the tree became "green" by using energy-saving LED lights. These LEDs use much less electricity. Since 2007, after the display, the tree is cut into lumber and given to Habitat for Humanity to help build houses. Since 2011, the song "Joy to the World" has been sung after the lighting ceremony.
On November 16, 2020, a small owl was found in the branches of the newly delivered tree! The bird was thirsty and hungry. Workers found her after the tree traveled 170 miles (270 km) from Oneonta, New York, to New York City. The owl, named Rockefeller (or Rocky), became very famous. She was taken to a wildlife center, got healthy, and was then set free.
Seeing the Tree
The decorated tree stays on display at Rockefeller Plaza, between West 48th and 51st Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It usually stays up until at least January 6 of the new year. In 2019, more than half a million people walked by the tree every day it was on display!
Watching the Lighting on TV
Since 1997, the tree lighting ceremony has been shown live on NBC. It's on in the evening in the Eastern and Central parts of the United States. The hosts are usually from Today, like Al Roker, Savannah Guthrie, and Hoda Kotb. Before 1997, it was only shown on local New York TV. In 2019, the TV show was made longer, so the tree is now lit just before 10 p.m. ET.
Images for kids
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The 1987 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, a 78-foot (24 m) Norway Spruce with 18,000 lights.
See also
In Spanish: Árbol de Navidad del Centro Rockefeller para niños
