NEW YORK – New York kicked off the holiday season on Saturday with the arrival of a 78-foot-tall Norwegian spruce that will be one of the world’s most famous Christmas trees at Rockefeller Center.
The 12-ton tree came by truck from the Price family home in Elkton, Maryland, the first time it came from that state since the tradition began 80 years ago. The lighting ceremony is scheduled for December 1.
The fir will carry 50,000 multi-colored lights and will be crowned by a 400-kilogram (881-pound) star with 70 rays covered with 3 million crystals.
The tree was felled Thursday and towed onto a truck on the Price property. He is about 85 years old and stood next to the house. Devon and Julie Price told NBC they feared it might hit their home during a storm.
“We love that he’s going to New York,” said Devon Price.
Rockefeller Center head gardener Erik Pauze found the tree in March when he went to a nursery in New Jersey to buy plants and decided to take a drive around the area, he told the Baltimore Sun.
The tree will remain installed until the beginning of January.
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