NEW YORK, USA | The 2026 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was cut down Thursday, November 5, in upstate New York and is now headed to Manhattan, where the 76-foot Norway spruce will become the centerpiece of one of the world’s most celebrated Christmas traditions.
The approximately 75-year-old tree, weighing about 11 tons, was transported from West Edmeston, New York, following a ceremony in which a crane lifted it onto a flatbed truck for its 200-mile journey to Rockefeller Plaza. It is scheduled to arrive on Saturday, November 7, overlooking the center’s famous ice-skating rink, according to the Associated Press.
The tree will be decorated with more than 50,000 multicolored LED lights and topped with a 900-pound Swarovski crystal star. Its official lighting ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, December 2, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. local time, marking the start of the holiday season at Rockefeller Center.
Rockefeller Center said the star, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind in 2018, features 70 spikes covered with approximately three million crystals. The lights are arranged along about five miles of wiring.
The annual Christmas tree tradition began in 1931, during the construction of Rockefeller Center, when workers pooled their money to put up a modest tree decorated with handmade garlands. The first formal tree-lighting ceremony followed in 1933, establishing what has since become an internationally recognized holiday attraction in New York City.
The 2026 tree will remain on display until January 9, 2027. After the holiday season, it will be milled into lumber and donated to Habitat for Humanity for use in home construction, continuing the center’s tradition of giving the tree a second purpose beyond the festivities.
The arrival of the giant spruce signals the early start of the Christmas season in New York, drawing visitors and tourists to Midtown Manhattan for the weeks leading up to the annual lighting ceremony.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
