Christmas Tree Goes Up In NY's Rockefeller Center

76-foot Christmas Tree From Conn. Goes Up In NY's Rockefeller Center; Lighting Ceremony Dec. 2

(AP)  NEW YORK (AP) - New York City's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is almost ready for the holidays.

The 76-foot Norway spruce was hoisted into place Thursday morning near the famous skating rink in mid-Manhattan.

The next step is to decorate it with 30,000 lights.

The lighting ceremony will be Dec. 2.

Crews cut down the 10-ton tree Wednesday at the Easton, Conn. home of fifth-grade teacher Maria Corti.

The first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was put up in 1931 by workers building the complex during the Depression. The first official tree lighting there was in 1933.

Last year's tree, also a Norway spruce, came from Hamilton, N.J.

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On the Net: www.rockefellercenter.com/