With Christmas mere days from now, I thought I’d mix the holiday with some trivia about the Rockefeller Christmas Tree in New York City.

This might be the most recognizable Christmas tree in the world and, based on the time, effort, and money that goes into creating this magnificent display every year, the title is well deserved. Every one of these trees is massive, ranging in height from 69 to 100 feet. Decorating takes almost two weeks and the lighting takes place live, on national TV, the Wednesday following Thanksgiving.

Although I live in Canada, the tree is famous even in my country. While this is a loved tradition, its beginnings were much more modest.

The first Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center was erected during the early years of the Great Depression, in 1931, by Italian-American workers constructing Rockefeller Center. It was a small 20 foot balsam fir that they decorated with cranberry strings, paper garlands, and even tin cans made by worker’s families and hung on Christmas Eve. The first official tree came two years later, when a 50 foot tree was lit.

World War II brought changes to the tree, but did not pause the erection or decorating. Because of black out restrictions in place during the war years, the tree was unlit, but it was still there each year.

Bigger trees began to be used in the 1950s, which saw the use of scaffolding to adorn the tree with lights, baubles, etc. In 1951, NBC televised the lighting for the first time with a special on the program The Kate Smith Hour. Since then, the lighting has been a yearly tradition.

Since 1971, the tree has been mulched and recycled. That year it became 30 three-bushel bags of mulch for nature trails in Upper Manhattan.

The tree is usually transported from its cutting site all the way to Rockefeller Center aboard a specially constructed custom telescoping trailer. It can handle tress up to 125 feet long, but the narrow streets where the tree is set up limit the height of the Christmas tree itself to 100 feet.

Some fast facts about this tree:

1. Since 1997, the tree lighting has been broadcast live to hundreds of millions of people on NBCs Christmas in Rockefeller Center broadcast
2. It is lit in the final ten minutes of a broadcast featuring live entertainment
3. The current mayor of New York City, along with the CEO of Tishman Speyer and special guests, has the honor of lighting the massive tree
4. The tree remains in place until mid January
5. Once in place, it is supported by four guy-wires at its midpoint and a steel spike at the base
6. An estimated 125 million people visit the tree every year
7. The trees are donated by nurseries in upstate New York and surrounding states, and even in Canada
8. 50,000 multicolored LED lights are strung on the tree each year
9. The star atop the tree is a Swarovski crystal, which was created for the tree in 2018. It features 70 spikes and three million crystals with LED lighting spots and weighs 900 pounds

This tree is as much a part of Christmas to me as the carols and Christmas programs, especially A Charlie Brown Christmas. The next time you watch that cartoon, think about the tree Charlie Brown finds and the way that Linus wraps his blanket around the base of the tree for support. What starts out as a puny little sapling is transformed into a beautiful tree.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree might not look like Charlie Brown’s when it arrives at its destination, but it started out as one very similar.

Merry Christmas.

Photo by Eddie Palmore on Unsplash