By Salma El-Sakka
This year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree has been cut down and is heading to New York City to mark the beginning of the holiday season. The 76-foot-tall (23-meter) Norway spruce, approximately 75 years old and 50 feet (15 meters) in diameter, was harvested Thursday in West Edmeston, upstate New York.
Journey to Manhattan
The tree will travel 200 miles (322 kilometers) on a flatbed truck to Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, where it will overlook the iconic skating rink. Crews used a crane to hoist the conifer onto the truck for the trip, with arrival expected on Saturday.
Decorations and Lighting
Once in place, the tree will be wrapped with more than 50,000 energy-efficient, multicolored LED lights and crowned with a 900-pound (408-kilogram) Swarovski star. A live broadcast lighting ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 2.
Tradition and Afterlife
The tradition dates back to 1931, when construction crews at Rockefeller Center erected a small tree with handmade garlands. The first formal lighting ceremony took place in 1933. The tree will remain on display until Jan. 9, after which it will be milled into lumber for the housing nonprofit Habitat for Humanity.
