Haul out the holly! Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree arrives in New York City

NEW YORK -- The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree arrived in New York City on Saturday, signaling the start of the holiday season in the Big Apple.

The 74-foot Norway Spruce was driven into Manhattan's Center Plaza to be hoisted in place by a crane. It will take five miles (about 8 kilometers) of light strands with more than 50,000 multicolored LED bulbs to wrap the tree, whose diameter measures 43 feet (13 meters). A Swarovski star crown sparkling with 3 million crystals will top it.

The towering conifer, donated by the Albert family in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, was cut down Thursday morning and loaded onto a flatbed truck for the 140-mile (225-kilometer) trip. It is the first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree to come from Massachusetts since 1959.

The lighting ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 4.

When it finally comes down in January, the tree will be milled into lumber for Habitat for Humanity.

ALSO READ: Rockefeller Christmas tree cut down in Massachusetts

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