It's (Still) Lit!-the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Cassie Rydell, Staff Writer

This is the last week to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, which will be lit until January 7th at 9pm.  The tree has been illuminated since November 29th, featuring 50,000 multicolored LED lights. The tree-lighting ceremony lasted from 7-9pm, with performances by Brett Eldredge, Jennifer Nettles, Leslie Odom Jr., Pentatonix, Gwen Stefani, and the Tenors.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is located in New York City, displayed at the plaza between West 48th and 51st and Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The tree this year is a 75-foot-tall Norway Spruce from State College, Pennsylvania. It is about 80 years old and weighs more than 12 tons and has a diameter of 50 feet. Visiting hours to see the tree are from 5:30am to 11:30pm. The tree is an iconic symbol of the Christmas holiday, attracting thousands of tourists every year.
The very first Rockefeller tree was a 20-foot tree put up by a group of construction workers. In 1931, on Christmas Eve during the Great Depression, this group of construction workers put up the tree at Rockefeller Center because they were celebrating getting paid which makes this year the 85th year that the tree will be going up. Two years after they did this, the first official tree lighting ceremony took place.
After this weekend, the tree will be donated to Habitat for Humanity to be made into lumber to help build homes. This will be the 11th year that the tree will be donated to Habitat for Humanity.

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