If there's just one thing that comes to mind when you think of Christmas in New York, it's likely the Rockefeller Christmas Tree. An annual icon of the season, the 84-foot tall Norway Spruce from Connecticut stands tall in the center of midtown Manhattan, shining vibrantly for its 500,000 daily visitors.
Trimming the family tree and saturating the house with holiday decorations is something I look forward to year after year. Unfortunately I missed out on helping to deck the halls at my parents house this year, so to make up for it, I ambitiously attended the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony awhile back. Despite my dislike for being couped up like a chicken in a holding pen with thousands of tourists (real New Yorkers are smart, they avoid situations like these by staying home), I stood, perhaps stupidly, for over 2 hours on a brisk, bone-chilling evening, staring at a bare tree, actually, only the top half of the tree, because I was that far away. Half an hour before the tree was to be lit, I caved. I went home. Despite the real excitement of the evening being so close, I much preferred the idea of waking up the next morning with my fingers and toes still intact instead of dealing with the possibility that the lights wouldn't even turn on when the giant switch was flicked. Man, how disappointing would that have been?
Well, the lights went on alright, and with a much closer and warmer view of the tree thanks to the TV in my heated bedroom, I arrived home just in time to see what I had hoped to have seen in person. On the bright side, I got an ample dose of fresh air and was able to hear the joyous sounds of pre-taped live performances of Carrie Underwood and Celine Dion.
This past week marked my return to the site that once left me with a simple memory of a gigantic, exposed, pre-lit Spruce. What a difference 30,000 lights on five-miles of wire can do, not to mention the sparkle of the Swarovski Star, adorning the Tree with all of its 25,000 crystals. Pretty spectacular I must admit. It sure beats my lonely, whimsical Whoville tree that's on display in my apartment.
A simply stunning sight!
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
The Plaza isn't the least bit crowded...
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