Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center: when the lights are lit on it

New York's premier Christmas tree has been officially selected. It will be installed at Rockefeller Center this Saturday, November 14th. However, there are still no clear instructions on how the safety of people who come to admire it will be ensured in a pandemic. The edition writes about it New York Post.

This year, New York's main Christmas tree is a nearly 23-meter spruce weighing 11 tons. It will be cut this Thursday, November 12th. Then the forest beauty will be lifted with a huge crane and placed on a trailer that will go to the Big Apple.

The tree will be planted at Rockefeller Center on Saturday, November 14 - a few days later than last year (November 9).

“Say hello to the 2020 Christmas tree! This Saturday, November 14th, the Norwegian spruce will arrive at Rockefeller Center from Oneonta, NY to kick off the holiday season, ”reads a photograph posted on the Rockefeller Center's official website. Facebook.

The spruce was donated by a resident of West Oneonta, a village in Osego County, located almost 300 km from New York. The owner of the tree is known in the village as Daddy Al Dick. He is the owner of a local shop called Daddy Al's.

However, as COVID-19 cases skyrocket across the five boroughs, it remains unclear how the tree lighting ceremony will take place and what conditions will be created for those wishing to see the city's main tree in person.

Mayor Bill de Blasio was asked these questions twice this week. But, apart from his memories and personal experiences during his childhood visit to Rockefeller Center, there were no specific answers from the mayor. The only thing he mentioned was that indoor events should be avoided.

“You know, there is something really special about this action, when the lights on the tree are lit up. I still experience sincere surprise, as it was in childhood, when the lights are on, ”said de Blasio.

He said that the authorities, as soon as they find a solution, will immediately report on the algorithm of actions this year. “I think people understand that we have to be very careful when there is a danger of a second wave. Therefore, we will take additional precautions. We will provide you with information when we handle this, ”the mayor said.

A mayor's office spokesman later Wednesday, November 11, said they were discussing with various stakeholders on how to arrange safe visits to the popular location for large numbers of people. But so far, "these conversations continue," and the authorities have not found a solution on how to do it safely.

On the subject: Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center: history and traditions that few people know about

As a reminder, the ceremony of lighting fires on spruce at Rockefeller Center scheduled for December 2... It will air on NBC from 19:00 pm to 22:00 pm ET.

The tree will be available to visitors from 6:00 to midnight every day, and on Christmas day - all 24 hours.

The festively decorated fir tree at Rockefeller Center has long been an unspoken symbol of Christmas in New York. It is decorated with 8 kilometers of LED lights and over 50 lights. Since 2004, a star with 25 thousand Swarovski crystals has been lit on the top of the tree. In 2018, it was replaced by a more modern 400-pound star. To create it, 12 engineers and craftsmen worked for two whole years. The star was adorned with three million crystals, which is 120 times more than its predecessor.

By the way, lighting for the Christmas tree is energy-efficient: it receives an additional resource from solar panels installed on the roof of the Rockefeller Center. This is very useful, because on Christmas days, lights illuminate the fir tree around the clock.

The main holiday tree even has attendants - florists monitor its good condition. This is also facilitated by the fact that the forest beauty is on the street, which allows her to remain fresh and beautiful for a long time.

The main Christmas tree in New York is very popular: about 125 millions of visitors and residents come to see it every year.

Read about how the tradition of installing a tree appeared here, and what happens to it after the winter holidays. here.