:quality(80)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/lanacionar/UUAYPGRA4JGYNHCGOZKSYDWEUE "Christmas tree above Rockefeller Center in New York")
NEW YORK (AP) — An unmistakable emblem of Christmas arrived in New York on Saturday, as a crane hoisted the 82-foot (25-meter) Norway spruce into place at Rockefeller Center. The 14-ton tree will be decorated with thousands of multicolored lights and crowned with a star encrusted with millions of crystals.
The switching on of the lights will take place in a ceremony on November 30th.
The 90-year-old tree was cut down and hoisted onto the bed of a truck for the 200-mile (320-kilometer) journey from Queensbury, New York, to the city.
“We give it away with the expectation that everyone will enjoy it,” said Neil Lebowitz, whose family donated the tree.
“It was just a nice tree to me,” Lebowitz told the New York Post. “Now it is a special tree. Everyone can enjoy it.”
The tree, whose lower branches extend 15 meters, will shine with 50,000 multicolored lights and will be crowned with a 400-kilo star covered in 3 million crystals.
The tree will remain in place until after New Year’s and will then be cut into planks and donated to Habitat for Humanity.
