Ready Or Not, Rockefeller Center's Christmas Tree Has Arrived

Nina Golgowski
Updated

It’s beginning to look a bit like Christmas at New York City’s Rockefeller Center — but don’t worry, you still have more than a month of shopping to go.

A 75-foot Norway spruce arrived in the Big Apple on Saturday to grace the plaza this holiday season. The installation caps an estimated 240-mile journey from State College, Pennsylvania, where the tree was cut down.

The massive holiday tree will be adorned with more than 50,000 lights and topped with a Swarovski star before it’s lighted on Nov. 29. It will continue to shine in the famed plaza until Jan. 7.

A crane hoists the Rockefeller Center tree upright on Saturday in New York City. (Photo: Stephanie Keith via Getty Images)
A crane hoists the Rockefeller Center tree upright on Saturday in New York City. (Photo: Stephanie Keith via Getty Images)

After that, the tree will be donated to the nonprofit Habitat for Humanity to be used as lumber for building homes, according to the event’s webpage. This will be the 11th straight year the Rockefeller Center tree has gone to the charity.

This year’s tree will be the plaza’s 86th Christmas tree. Though many New Yorkers have become used to the annual sight of a massive holiday tree, one employee working in Rockefeller Center said the ritual never gets old.

“It doesn’t matter how many times you have seen this tree, when you have the opportunity to see it roll in in person, there’s nothing that beats it,” she told 1010 WINS’ Samantha Liebman.

Check out more photos of the tree on its way from Pennsylvania to the Big Apple below:

Community members watch as the 75-foot Norway spruce is loaded onto a truck to be taken to Rockefeller Center in New York City on Thursday, Nov. 9.
Community members watch as the 75-foot Norway spruce is loaded onto a truck to be taken to Rockefeller Center in New York City on Thursday, Nov. 9.
The Norway spruce from Pikeview Road is carefully lifted by a crane after being cut.
The Norway spruce from Pikeview Road is carefully lifted by a crane after being cut.
With a banner and a strand of holiday lights, the 75-foot Norway spruce heads off to Rockefeller Center on Nov. 9.
With a banner and a strand of holiday lights, the 75-foot Norway spruce heads off to Rockefeller Center on Nov. 9.
The Rockefeller Center tree arrives in Manhattan on a truck.
The Rockefeller Center tree arrives in Manhattan on a truck.
Workers place the Rockefeller Center tree on its base.
Workers place the Rockefeller Center tree on its base.
The tree will remain on display on the plaza until Jan. 7.
The tree will remain on display on the plaza until Jan. 7.
The tree will be lit for the first time on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
The tree will be lit for the first time on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
The Rockefeller Center tree is seen just before it is set upright.
The Rockefeller Center tree is seen just before it is set upright.
A worker drives a spike into the bottom of the Rockefeller Center tree during the installation.
A worker drives a spike into the bottom of the Rockefeller Center tree during the installation.
The 75-foot Norway Spruce from State College, Pennsylvania, will become the 86th Christmas tree to grace the plaza.
The 75-foot Norway Spruce from State College, Pennsylvania, will become the 86th Christmas tree to grace the plaza.
A crane hoists the Rockefeller Center tree upright on Saturday in New York City.
A crane hoists the Rockefeller Center tree upright on Saturday in New York City.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.