TWO GIANT XMAS TREES

And Millions of Smaller Ones

This past week we saw the annual lighting up of the Rockefeller Center Xmas tree, a 74-foot-tall Norway spruce, which was trucked in from West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. At cutting, the tree was about 70 years old and is the first Rockefeller Center tree to be brought from Massachusetts since 1959. Trees for this ceremony are chosen every year by Erik Pauze, Rockefeller Center's head gardener during the past three decades. Long in advance of the ceremony, he locates and appraises candidates, in search of one that is sturdy enough to support thousands of multicolored lights. It’s always an evergreen he would like, as he says, to see, "stand there nice and proud". The star at the apex of the tree, first used in 2004, is an aggregate of crystal components made by Swarovski. In fact, the replacement star used in 2018 incorporated three million crystals, lit by LED lights.

A few facts: The tree is usually a Norway spruce about 69–100 feet tall; the tallest tree ever installed was a 100-foot Norway spruce brought from Connecticut in 1999. The tree is donated each year, and the owners do not accept money for it. Beginning in 2007, Rockefeller Center has donated lumber milled from the tree to Habitat for Humanity to build homes.

This New York Xmas tradition began in 1931 when construction workers building Rockefeller Center put up a tree under their own initiative, with no suggestion from management. The first management-sponsored ceremony took place in 1933, when some of the 30 Rock buildings opened. One can say then that 2024 marks either the 93^rd or 91^st anniversary of the Rockefeller tree-lighting ceremony.

The second iconic Xmas tree-lighting ceremony has a shorter history. The tradition of installing and lighting a U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree in Washington D.C. began 60 years ago, this year’s event taking place on the West Front Lawn on December 3. Especially newsworthy this year is the origin of the Capitol tree. Every year, in consultation with the U.S. States Forest Service, the Architect of the Capitol chooses the tree to be used. The person currently holding that position is Thomas E. Austin, whose tenure began this past June. After some deliberation, the tree selected was an 80-foot Sitka spruce taken from the Wrangell District Region in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. A certain disadvantage attendant on the choice was posed by the 4000-mile distance from Alaska to the nation’s capital, part of the itinerary involving naval transport. But the problem was turned into a bonus by establishing a Whistlestop Tour of the spruce’s progress, with stops along the way including Ketchikan, Pocatello, and Hagerstown, where residents could gather to greet and wish the tree well on its journey. The lighting ceremony on December 3 not incidentally offered an occasion for photo ops and speeches by Alaska legislators Senator Lisa Murkowski and Representative Mary Peltola, plus Speaker Mike Johnson. Also, Rose Burke, a fourth-grade student from Alaska, gave a brief and charming speech.