The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lights up in New York City

NEW YORK (AP) – Fifty thousand multicolored lights were lit on Rockefeller Center’s iconic Christmas tree Wednesday night to cheers from crowds gathered to witness the annual tradition in New York City.

The giant Norwegian fir, which pays tribute this year from a small town in Massachusettsis also topped with a Swarovski star crown with 3 million crystals.

The 74-foot-tall (23-meter-tall) tree was cut down last month in West Stockbridge and driven to Rockefeller Plaza. Wednesday night’s ceremony marked the culmination of the tree’s long journey to New York, which began in 2020 when the center’s head gardener discovered the tree and asked its owners if they would consider donating it.

The famous holiday attraction, located above the Rockefeller Center ice rink, will be on view until mid-January. On Christmas Day, the tree will be lit for 24 hours.

When the holiday season is over, the tree will be used for lumber for Habitat for Humanity.

Security was tightened for the annual tree lighting ceremony after a gunman on Wednesday morning killed UnitedHealthcare’s CEO outside a midtown Manhattan hotel about five blocks from Rockefeller Center. Department Chief Jeffrey B. Maddrey said earlier in the day that there would be a “massive presence” of police, including additional officers in the metro.

“This is a terrible event, but people will go ahead and enjoy the tree lighting tonight,” he said.