The lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, an annual New York City tradition, took place Wednesday night.
Here’s everything to know about the event, how to visit the tree and road closures around the area.
Crowds gather for 2025 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting
With the flip of a switch, all 50,000 lights illuminated the 75-foot Norway Spruce.
Hundreds of people filled Midtown for the event, spending hours out in the cold.
“Amazing. It’s off my bucket list. This is something I wanted to do,” one person said.
“I’ve always wanted to see this tree, and there it is,” Texas resident Shari High said.
Jeanine Knapkiewicz’s family made a last-minute trip from Ohio just for the tree lighting.
“Got them up this morning at 3 a.m., and we drove in for this,” she said.
People on line to see the 93rd annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, in New York.
Yuki Iwamura / AP
To get a front row seat, Jean Stevenson, from Arizona, lined up before 2 p.m.
“I wasn’t going to miss it, so I was the first person through the line,” she said.
“Every year when I see it for the first time, it makes me cry,” another person said. “I just love Christmas. My family loves Christmas … I had to go.”
For the Tonner family all the way from Scotland, making this memory is a Christmas wish come true.
“This is my first time in New York, and it really means a lot to me and I love it,” Rudy Tonner said.
When was the 2025 Rockefeller Center tree lighting in NYC?
Reba McEntire hosted this year’s ceremony, which started at 8 p.m. on Dec. 3, 2025, and featured live music and performances, including Marc Anthony, Halle Bailey, Michael Bublé, Kristin Chenoweth, Laufey, New Edition, Brad Paisley, and Carly Pearce.
The lights were turned on just before 10 p.m.
This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the Radio City Rockettes, who also performed.
When and where to see the Rockefeller Center tree
The Christmas tree stands illuminated moments after being lit during the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting in New York City on December 3, 2025.
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU /AFP via Getty Images
The Rockefeller Center tree will be lit up from 5 a.m. to midnight through mid-January. On Christmas Eve, it will be lit for 24 hours, and on New Year’s Eve, it will be lit from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The tree is located at 30 Rockefeller Center between West 49th and West 50th streets in Manhattan. Visitors traveling by mass transit should use the 47th-50th Streets-Rockefeller Center stop on the B, D, F and M lines.
Tickets can be purchased to skate at the Rockefeller Center ice rink, or to check out the view from the observation decks. For more than $300, you can buy a VIP pass for an up-close tour of the tree and a champagne toast.
What to know about this year’s Rockefeller Center tree
The Norway Spruce was cut down on Nov. 6 in East Greenbush, New York, a suburb of Albany in Rensselaer County, about 150 miles north of New York City. It arrived at Rockefeller Center on Nov. 8. It is approximately 75 feet tall, weighs 11 tons, and is more than 60 years old.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is lifted at Rockefeller Plaza on Nov. 8, 2025, in New York.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / AP
The tree is decorated with more than 50,000 energy-efficient LED lights and topped with a Swarovski crystal star. After it comes down in mid-January, it will be milled into lumber for Habitat for Humanity, according to organizers.
The history of the Rockefeller Center tree lighting
Organizers say the holiday tradition dates back to 1931, when a group of workers pooled their money to buy a Christmas tree. They decorated the 20-foot tall Balsam Fir with garlands made by their families.
Two years later, Rockefeller Center held the first official tree lighting.
December 1999 holds the record for the largest tree — a 100-footer from Killingworth, Connecticut.
Last year’s tree hailed from West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in the southern Berkshires region. It was the first tree selected from Massachusetts since 1959.
Road closures around Rockefeller Center
With tens of thousands in attendance Wednesday night, the NYPD stepped up security for everyone’s safety. Uniformed and plainclothes officer were all over the plaza.
It was also the first Gridlock Alert Day of the month. The NYPD said the following streets were closed Wednesday:
- 46th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 47th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 48th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 49th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 50th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 51st Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 52nd Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- Rockefeller Plaza between 48th Street and 51st Street
- 6th Avenue between 46th Street and 52nd Street
- 5th Avenue between 46th Street and 52nd Street
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