December 5, 2024
The 2024 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is officially sparkling on Center Plaza.
Rockefeller Center after the annual tree lighting on Wednesday. This year’s tree is a 74-foot Norway Spruce from Massachusetts – the first tree from the state in 65 years.
Why It Matters: Wednesday night’s Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting marks 91 years of tradition. The tree – which boasts 50,000 lights – will be lit “Sunday-Wednesday from 5am to midnight and Thursday-Saturday from 5am-1am,” according to Rockefeller Center. On Christmas Day, the tree will remain lit for 24 hours.
What Happens To the Tree After the Holidays? The tree will be donated to Habitat for Humanity so that its wood, turned into lumber, can be used by the organization to build homes. This tradition started in 2007, after the Rockefeller Center property owners partnered with Habitat for Humanity in recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina.
The lumber receives an identifying stamp, and sometimes home owners will leave the beam exposed as a special memento. In 2012, one new homeowner said of their special lumber: “This tree has blessed our house and it helped put us on a new path.”
Read More: The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lights up in New York City (AP)
Image Credit: Demaree Nikhinson / AP
by Stephanie Wagner, based in Florida
