The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lights up
NEW YORK—The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has been lit, officially kicking off the holiday season.
In a star-studded affair televised by NBC, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio did the honors, flanked by celebrities Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon from “Saturday Night Live.”
Thousands of people turned out for the 84th annual lighting ceremony despite a steady rain.
The Norway Spruce, estimated to be at least 90 years old, weighs 14 tons and stands at 94 feet with a width of 56 feet. It is decorated with more than 50,000 multi-colored, energy-efficient LED lights strung on five miles of wire and powered by solar panels located atop the buildings at Rockefeller Center.
A Swarovski crystal star tops the tree. The star has 25,000 crystals, measures 9 ½ feet in diameter, and weighs 550 pounds. The star’s 12 rays are also outfitted with 720 LED bulbs.
The first tree in 1933 had just 700 lights.
Wednesday’s ceremony included performances by a number of celebrities such as Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Josh Groban, Sarah McLachlan, and The Radio City Rockettes. Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, and Hoda Kotb of NBC's "Today" show hosted the ceremony.
“This is very meaningful,” Diamond said before performing two songs from his new “Acoustic Christmas” album. “It’s the beginning of Christmas, as far as I’m concerned. Everybody is in the mood for it. Everyone is going to have a good time tonight and so am I. I’m happy to sing here.”
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This year’s tree came from the Oneonta, N.Y. property of Angie and Graig Eichler. It was cut down on Nov. 10 and arrived at Rockefeller Center on Nov. 12. Since then, it has required 30 gallons of water a day to stay full and fresh.
Erik Pauze, head gardener at Rockefeller Center, said picking the tree was a year-long process. He considered two other trees before settling on the one on the Eichler’s property.
“I was on my way to a second tree. I came around a mountain,” he said. “And I saw this section of trees off to the side. I drove up to this one and I knew it was going to be perfect. I saw this tree towering over the house.”
The Eichlers have lived in their Oneonta house for more than 12 years. The tree has been with them the whole time. They say they never expected it to become a botanical celebrity.
“Even the morning when Rockefeller Center knocked on our door, we never really thought about it being a Christmas tree,” said Graig Eichler. “We looked at the tree and said, ‘wow it’s a beautiful tree.’”
About 800,000 people are expected to visit the tree daily. They can see the lit tree each day from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., all day on Christmas and 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. The last day to view the lit tree will be Jan. 7.
When the holidays are over, the tree will be milled into lumber to be used to build houses by Habitat for Humanity.
“It’s a nice way for our tree to go out in style,” said Angie Eichler.