Nov. 9 (UPI) — The 93rd year of a holiday tradition is underway in New York City where the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is now on display.
The massive evergreen arrived in midtown Manhattan early Saturday morning and workers immediately moved to raise the tree into place outside the cultural landmark as crowds gathered to snap photos.
The latest edition of the tree is a 74-foot Norway Spruce grown in West Stockbridge, Mass.
Norway Spruce trees typically grow to between 40 and 60 feet in the wild.
The tree is believed to be about 70 years old, weighing in at approximately 11 tons. It is the first tree from the Bay State to be picked as the Rockefeller Center centerpiece since 1959
The annual tree lighting ceremony will take place on Dec. 4.
Singer Kelly Clarkson will again host the event, presented by NBC.
Following the festivities, the tree will be lit daily from 5 a.m. EST to midnight.
The tree will be lit for 24 hours on Christmas Eve and until 9 p.m. EST on New Year’s Eve.
The coniferous giant will remain on display through mid-January.
A large Christmas tree was first erected at Rockefeller Center in 1931 by construction workers who were building the plaza.
