Rock Center Christmas Tree lit for the 2023 holiday season

This year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is an 80-foot-tall Norway spruce from Vestal, New York in the Binghamton area.
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, one of New York City's most popular holiday attractions, was lit Wednesday night.

This year's tree is an 80-foot-tall Norway spruce from Vestal, New York, in the Binghamton area.
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About 5 miles of multicolored LED lights adorn the tree, which is topped with a star designed by Daniel Libeskind in 2018.

The three-dimensional Swarovski star weighs 900 pounds and features 70 spikes covered in 3 million crystals.

The tree, which is about 80-85 years old, is viewable at the Rock between West 49th and 50th streets and Fifth and Sixth avenues.

RELATED: Winter festivities across the Tri-State area to celebrate the holiday season

The official lighting happened a few minutes before 10 p.m. on Wednesday.
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If you couldn't see the tree lighting in person, the Rockefeller Center's Instagram account provided some snaps during the night.



The tree+ will be lit daily from 5 a.m. until midnight until Jan. 13.

On Christmas Day, the tree remains lit for 24 hours. On New Year's Eve, it is lit from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree has been a part of the New York holiday experience for 90 years. Workers at the Rock pooled their money to buy a tree in December 1931.

Construction workers line up for pay beside the first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York in 1931.


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Two years later, it became an annual tradition as the first tree-lighting ceremony was held in December 1933.

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