Tonight the 30,000 colored lights of New York City’s Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center lit up. The event is a yearly much publicized tradition that officially kicks off the Christmas season in the city. The first nationally televised Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting was in 1951, but the tradition goes back much further. The tree is a 88-foot Norway Spruce from Ridgefield, Connecticut. The life span of a Norway Spruce is about 80-110 years.
Singers Martina McBride, John Legend, Christina Aguilera, Sting and Bette Midler among others, performed during the two hour event.