The Christmas season is kicked off with the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center in New York City, which will be hosted by Kelly Clarkson and aired live on NBC and streamed on Peacock as part of the “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” special. The ceremony takes place at 8 p.m. ET and will feature performances by music stars including the Backstreet Boys, Jennifer Hudson, Dan + Shay, and more. The ceremony will also include appearances by the Radio City Rockettes and NBC News’ “TODAY” show anchors.
This year’s tree is a 74-foot tall Norway spruce from West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and is adorned with over 50,000 multicolor LED lights and topped with a Swarovski star designed by Daniel Libeskind. After the ceremony, the tree will be lit from 5 a.m. to midnight through mid-January, with a 24-hour lighting on Christmas Eve and an early cutoff at 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.
The ceremony has a long tradition, with the first tree being erected in Rockefeller Center in 1931 by workers who pooled their money for the display. The first lighting ceremony took place in 1933 and was televised in 1951. The tree will be donated to Habitat for Humanity after its display to build homes for those in need.
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