Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree year. The tree, usually a Norway spruce tall, has been a national tradition each year since 1933. The 2018 Christmas Tree Lighting took place on November 28, 2018; the tree will remain on display until January 7, 2019. Trees are traditionally donated to Rockefeller Center, which in turn donates the lumber after display. Until his death in 2009, the late David Murbach, Manager of the Gardens Division of Rockefeller Center, scouted for the desired tree in upstate New York and surrounding states, and even Ottawa in Ontario, Canada. Erik Pauzé, Head Gardener at Rockefeller Center, looks for each year's Rockefeller
Christmas tree Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer such as spruce, pine, or fir or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas, originating in Northern Europe. The custom was developed in medieval Livonia (present-day Estonia and Latvia), and in early modern Germany where Protestant Germans brought decorated trees into their homes. It acquired popularity beyond the Lutheran areas of Germany and the Baltic countries during the second half of the 19th century, at first among the upper classes. The tree was traditionally decorated with "roses made of colored paper, apples,