Halloween is officially over, which means it’s time to start thinking about Christmas!
And what better way to prepare for the holiday season than prepare for the arrival of one of the most famous Christmas displays in the world: the Rockefeller Christmas Tree.
This year’s tree is an 82-foot Norway Spruce coming from Queensbury, New York. It will make the nearly 200 mile journey south to Manhattan later this month where it will be put on display where more than half a million people visit the tree each day.
The 50-foot wide, 14-ton tree was donated by the Lebowitz family of Glens Falls, NY.
It’s believed the tree is between 85 and 90 years old.
As has been tradition since 1971, once the holiday season is over the tree will be recycled. In the early 1970’s, the Rockefeller Christmas tree was turned into 30 three-bushel bags of mulch and used throughout Central Park.
Since 2007, the tree has been used to build homes for Habitat for Humanity.
The 2022 Rockefeller Christmas Tree will look a lot different than the first tree that stood in the iconic location. That first tree, set up in 1931 by Rockefeller Center construction workers to lift their spirits, stood a mere 20 feet tall compared to recent trees, which regularly stand more than 70 feet.
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While the first tree was decorated with handmade garland and strings of cranberries, this year’s tree will feature more than 50,000 LED lights and a gigantic Swarovski crystal star.
The Christmas tree will be lit during a live broadcast on November 30, and will stay on display until mid-January.
Have you ever visited the Rockefeller Christmas Tree? Let us know in the comments on Facebook!
