Rockefeller Christmas tree lights up and officially kicks off the holiday season during rain-drenched ceremony still attended by thousands
Not even a little rain could keep thousands of New Yorkers away from watching the Rockefeller Christmas tree light up the night sky once again this holiday season, the Daily Mail reports.
Thousands of rain-drenched revelers gathered in midtown Manhattan Wednesday night to watch the annual lighting of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.
Mayor Bill de Blasio flipped the switch just before 9pm, illuminating the 94-foot tall, 14-ton Norway spruce with 50,000 multicolored LED bulbs on 5 miles of wires.
And sparkling at the very top of the tree is the Swarovski star, which is 550 pounds and is made up of 25,000 glittering crystals.
The 84th annual ceremony aired live on NBC and included performances by Neil Diamond, Sarah McLachlan, Josh Groban, Tony Bennett, Pentatonix, Tori Kelly and the Radio City Rockettes.
Security at the event was tight. Spectators were urged to use mass transit and umbrellas, backpacks and large bags were prohibited.
This year's tree came from the backyard of Angie and Graig Eichler in the northern foothills of New York's Catskill mountain range.
Angie Eichler said their family has come almost every year to see the Rockefeller Center tree - but she never dreamed it would be theirs.
The tree will be lit every day from 5.30am to 11.30pm until January 7.
The only exception will be Christmas Day, when the lights will blaze for a full 24 hours.
After the holidays, the tree will be milled into lumber for Habitat for Humanity.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree got its unofficial start all the way back in 1931.
A group of demolition workers together purchased a 20-foot tall tree to stand at the Rockefeller Center construction site.
They put their money together to be able to afford the baslam fir and then decorated it with strings of cranberries, tin cans and handmade garlands.
The first official tree lighting ceremony took place two years later, when 30 Rockefeller Plaza opened in 1933.
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