GO Airlink Blog

Travel tips, upcoming events and information on all things New York City.

The 83rd Annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

It’s that time of year again! With the weather being as warm as it has been in NYC, it’s hard to get into the holiday spirit, but fear not, we have just the thing to put you into the holiday mood. The 83rd Annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting is happening tomorrow, December 2nd, with live performances starting at 7 pm.

To find the best tree, a helicopter flies over thousands of trees in areas such as Connecticut, New Jersey, upstate New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Canada. Once chosen, the tree is decorated with up to 30,000 multicolored LED lights (that’s five miles of wire!). The star on top contains 25,000 Swarovski crystals with one million facets, and 720 LED bulbs. It is the largest of stars to ever top the tree and weighs in at around 550 pounds!

If you are worried about the environmental impact of all of those lights, don’t be! The tree has been solar powered since 2007 by 300 solar panels installed on the roof One Rockerfeller Center. Believe it or not, the tree saves enough energy to power a 2,000 square foot home for a month!

This year, the tree will stand at 78 feet, and was found in Gardiner, New York. Once lit, the tree will be available for viewing from 5:30 am to midnight, and all day on Christmas Day until 8pm on January 6th.

Even though the tree is lit exclusively for the holiday season, that doesn’t mean it will be thrown away. The tree will be donated to Habitat for Humanity to create lumber for families in need. Come support this great tradition, and create memories for years to come.

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