As the world counts down to Christmas in 2024, a 74-foot Norway Spruce arrived at the Rockefeller Center from West Stockbridge, Massachusetts to continue the city’s longtime holiday tradition for the 93rd time.
Reports say the gigantic 70-year-old tree weighs up to 11 tons, and is the first from Massachusetts since 1959. Many New York residents have gushed about the spruce online, as they cannot wait to see it get lit up in a few weeks.
Social media reacts to the huge Christmas tree
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One could not miss the tree’s arrival as it got wheeled into the city at midnight on Saturday, and New York residents took to social media to express their excitement. “This tradition never gets old for me,” someone wrote, while another recalled their loveliest moments growing up, including sighting the Rockefeller tree.
Another user was happy to help answer questions about the tree, noting that the head gardener from Rockefeller Center scouts out the NE region every year for a new tree. “Can’t wait to see it. That’s the sign that the Christmas season is here!” a second person gushed.
93 years and more to come
The New York City tradition began in 1931 when Italian-American workers decorated a 20-foot balsam fir while building the complex during the Depression era. They made do with strings of cranberries, garlands of paper, and even a few tin cans to make the tree look good, and it has become a yearly practice ever since.
There were a few concerns about the fate of the tree once the holiday was over, and Habitat for Humanity explained that the trunk would be milled into two-by-four and two-by-six beams in January, and will be donated to them to create affordable homes for families. This partnership has been in place since 2007, with the owner and operator of the Rockefeller Center, Tishman Speyer, being one of their biggest lumber donors.
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