Incidentally, the Christmas tree in question is not a tree that has just been picked from a field somewhere on a Sunday afternoon. The search for the perfect pine is a long one happening. This year, a Norwegian spruce of no less than 24 meters was selected in the American state of Maryland. It was transported with great care to New York where it was subsequently rigged. The showpiece is a Swarovski star with three million diamonds (!) as its peak.
The Holiday Season can officially begin. The 2021 Christmas Tree is getting unwrapped and standing on the Plaza. Now for a little sparkle ✨
Click here for Tree Lighting details.https://t.co/qPUjZd8Sm3 pic.twitter.com/OXVm59IsGn
— Rockefeller Center (@rockcenternyc) November 13, 2021
Giga pressure
The supreme moment, when the switch of the 50,000 colored LED lights was turned on for the first time, was Wednesday evening. The whole show around it started at seven o’clock in the evening, but friends of New Yorkers advised me to go earlier. It would be very busy. Especially because there was no show last year due to the pandemic.
And it was certainly very busy. Despite my attempt to get there on time, I was almost all the way at the back in a gigantic crowd around five o’clock. And then the waiting began. And wait. Because don’t think they’ll turn the tree on right at 7 o’clock. The whole thing was also broadcast on TV and as we are used to from America, all the bells and whistles were pulled out. From a cappella singing groups and dancers to lengthy speeches and commercials. You couldn’t see any of that from my place, unfortunately.
Waiting in the cold
Only after five hours of waiting and a lot of small talk with people next to me, the moment arrived at ten o’clock in the evening. Accompanied by thousands of New Yorkers and tourists, there was a countdown from five to zero, after which the lights and the star came on. That was accompanied by a lot of screaming, which fans of a Justin Bieber concert can learn from. But admit it: it was beautiful.
Was it worth waiting three hours in the cold to see the lights of a giant Christmas tree come on? How dare you even ask that question. As a real Christmas fanatic you want to see this once in your life. But I advise everyone to watch this from the couch from now on, because they also broadcast it on TV.
Didn’t you happen to be in New York during the ceremony? Do not panic. The Christmas tree is lit daily from six in the morning until midnight. Even 24 hours on Christmas Day. It is not yet known when they will take him away.
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