Christmas Day 2020
Memories Made Here
The holidays in NYC begin at Rockefeller Center. Whether it's a visit to the iconic Christmas Tree, a skate on the ice at The Rink, seeing the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall or exploring attractions and fun things to do, there's a magic here that can't be denied. And it's a holiday tradition you'll want to make your own.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is a large Christmas tree place annually in Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The tree is erected in mid November and lit in a public ceremony on the Wednesday following Thanksgiving. The first year was in 1931. The tree this year is a 75 foot tall Norway Spruce, 45 fee wide and weighs 11 tons. On Christmas Day, the tree is lit for 24 hours and on New Years Eve it is lit from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The first Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center was erected in 1931 during the Depression-era construction of Rockefeller Center, when workers decorated a smaller 20 foot balsam fir with "strings of cranberries, garlands of paper and even a few tin cans" on Christmas Eve. With the lighting of the 50-foot-tall first official tree two years later, the tree became what Rockefeller Center dubbed "a holiday beacon for New Yorkers and visitors alike". A skating rink was opened below the tree in the plaza in 1936.
Since then, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has been a yearly tradition. Workers pooled their money for that unlit tree with garlands made by workers' families. According to Rockefeller Center's website, the tree was "from the beginning ... a gathering place and reflection of what was happening in the world around it".
World War II ushered in simple, patriotic decorations including red, white and blue unlit globes and painted wooden stars. In 1942, the tree went unlit due to blackout regulations. After the war, the year of darkness was left behind as six ultraviolet light projectors were employed to make it appear as though the tree's 700 fluorescent globes were glowing in the dark. By the 1950s, workers began using scaffolding to decorate the tree as larger trees were accommodated. Before the decade was over, the decorating process called for 20 works and nine days. 1951 marked the first time that NBC televised the tree lighting with a special on The Kate Smith Show. In 1969, artist Valerie Clarebout's towering wire herald angels were added to the Channel Gardens in front of the tree near Fifth Avenue. Clarebout created the 12 sculptures using 75 points of metal wire each.
The 1971 tree, a 65-footer from east Montpelier, Vermont was the fit to be mulched and recycled. It was turned into a 30 three-bushel bags of mulch for the nature trails of upper Manhattan. Though the tree typically makes its journey on a truck bed, in 1998 it was flown in from Richfield, Ohio on the world's largest transport plane. 199 saw Rockefeller Center's tallest tree, a 100 foot spruce from Killingworth Connecticut.
In 2001, following the September 11 attacks, the tree was again decorated in hues of red, white and blue. In 2007, the tree went "green" converting to energy-efficient lighting with LEDs. The LEDs use 1,200 fewer kilowatts of electricity per day, ehough to power a 2,000-square-foot home for a month. Also since 2007, each year after display, the tree has been milled into lumber and donated to Habitat for Humanity for use in house construction. Since 2011, the tree lighting ceremony has been followed by the singing of Joy to the World, which has, since 2018, been performed by the Main Street Gospel choir.
Until 2018, the lighting was the very last moment of the program and has since been moved to the last ten minutes.
On November 16, 2020 an adult female northern saw-whet owl was found dehydrated and hungry within the wrapped branches o the newly delivered tree during its installation. The bird was discovered by workers who transported the spruce 170 miles from Oneonta, NY to New York City. The feathered stowaway, named Rockefeller (Rocky), endured the three-day road trip and generated much public interest and media coverage. She was taken to a wildlife center for a check-up and nursed to full strength before being released on the grounds of the wildlife center in Saugerties, New York.
Trees are traditionally donated to Rockefeller Center which in turn donates the lumber after display. Until his death in 2009, the late David Murbach, Manager of the Gardens Division of Rockefeller Center, scouted for the desired tree in upstate New York and surrounding states and even Ottawa in Ontario, Canada.
Erik Pauze, Head Gardener at Rockefeller Center looks for eah year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. He visits nurseries throughout the tri-state area and looks for unique backyard trees. Trees are also submitted for consideration through Rockefeller Center's website. Pauze and his team choose each year's tree based on its heartiness and "Christmas tree shape", as well as it abiity to support the heavy ornaments.
Once a tree is selected, a crane supports the tree while it is cut then moved to a custom telescoping trailer able to transports trees up to 125 feet tall although the narrowness of the streets around Rockefeller Center limits the height of the tree to 100 feet. The tree is then delivered to the city by a local company, Christmas Tree Brooklyn. On its way to Manhattan, the tree is dressed in giant red bows or banners extending holiday greeting to witnesses. Trucks, barges and a transport plane have all been used to help the tree make the monumental trip.
Once at Rockefeller Center, the tree is supported by four guy-wires attached at its midpoint and by a steel spike at its base. Scaffolding is erected around the tree to assist workers in hanging about 50,000 multi-colored LED lights and the star top. A new crystal star of Swarovski crystal which tops the tree was created in 2018 and designed by the renowned artist Daniel Liebeskind. The star measures 9-foot 4-inches in diameter and is crafted from 3 million dazzling Swarovski Crystals on 70 illuminated spikes. In total, the star weighs .. 900 pounds!
"The new Swarovski Star for the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is inspired by the beauty of starlight, something that radiates meaning and mystery into the world. The Star is a symbol that represents our greatest ambitions for hope, unity and peace."
Daniel Liebeskind
An interesting note that I learned after looking through the list of where the trees originated .. Oneonta is listed twice .. in 2016 and again in 2020. All the trees since 1982 have been Norway Spruce. The tree in 2016 was the tallest .. reaching a height of 94 ft.
If you go to the following link and tap on Yearly Tree Details, you will see the entire list through the years:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_Center_Christmas_Tree
Pat Locke, Maestro Muse
