As temperatures begin to drop and winter coats are rediscovered from the backs of closets, New Yorkers prepare for arguably the best time of the year – the holiday season. Christmas in the city looks like Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus decorated it themselves: lights hang from bare trees, ice skating rinks reopen, filled to the brim with little kids and their parents, and autumn’s leaf piles turn into piles of snow. It is one of the most joyous times of the year.
For many New Yorkers, Christmas in the city is defined by the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, which stands at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in front of the iconic ice skating rink. This year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was cut on Thursday, Nov. 6 and arrived on the Center Plaza on Saturday, Nov. 8.
Last year’s Rockefeller Christmas Tree stood at around 74 feet from West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, the first time a tree had been picked from Massachusetts since 1959. In contrast, the 2025 tree comes from a farm in East Greenbush, New York, donated by the Russ family.
After a long, 150-mile journey to get to Rockefeller Plaza, workers spend hours lifting the 11-ton Norway spruce using a crane to lift it off of the flat-bed truck, while several New Yorkers flood the sidewalks to watch.
Source: NBC News
However, the positioning of the tree after its arrival isn’t the most iconic part of the Rockefeller tree: it’s the lighting. The official lighting of the 2025 Rockefeller Tree will take place on December 3rd, from around 7 to 10 pm. Covered in over 50,000 multicolored, energy efficient LED lights and crowned with a Swarovski star weighing 900 pounds, the tree is truly a sight to see. The tree lighting will be broadcast live, where millions of people watch.
The beloved tradition began in 1931, when construction workers put money together to get the tree while their families decorated it. Two years later, in 1933, the tree was officially put up. Nowadays, the Rockefeller Christmas tree costs around $70,000 and takes about 2 hours to put up.
Source: The New York Times
As the 2025 holiday season approaches, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree represents yet again a symbol of joy, light and tradition, sparking happiness in such a harsh and dark season. What began as a small tradition in 1931 has grown into a cherished celebration, seen by millions of people to this day.
