For many post-Thanksgiving 2018 marks the beginning of the Christmas season. But for New Yorkers, it is not until the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is lit. With thousands of lights and crystals, nearly a dozen performers and a huge spectacle welcomed the 86th Rockefeller Center Christmas tree 2018 lighting ceremony. Now the Christmas 2018 season has officially begun, and people are screaming the onset much extra loudly in New York, United States. There is a lot to know about the annual gigantic lightning ceremony, as visitors can view the tree throughout the holiday season. Christmas Beauty and Fashion 2018: Tinsel Hair and Candy Cane Eyeliners, All The Chillest Trends For The Holiday Season. 

If you have not watched the broadcast, scroll down to see what you missed and also know the significance, history and everything about the NYC’s annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree 2018.

History of Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

The first Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center was created in 1931, during the worldwide Great Depression era. Workers decorated a small 20-foot balsam fir with “strings if cranberries, garlands of paper and even a few tin cans,” on Christmas Eve. Two years later, the lighting of the 50-foot-tall became what Rockefeller Center dubbed a “holiday beacon for New Yorkers and visitors alike.” Since then, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has been a yearly tradition. Workers will collect money for that unlit tree with the garlands made by the workers’ families. The Rockefeller Center’s website says that the tree was “from the beginning ... a gathering place and reflection of what was happening in the world around it.” Since 1997, the lighting ceremony has been broadcasted live on NBC in the first hour of primate, live in the Eastern and Central time zones. Christmas Decorations 2018 Go X-Rated! UK Mall Places Polar Bears in a Sexual Position, Pics Go Viral. 

2018 Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center is lit up!

Significance of Rockefeller Center Christmas tree

As the lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller has become an annual tradition, in the past, these trees are being donated to the center. For 2018, the 72-foot Norway Spruce has been contributed by a same-sex or Latina couple. The tree which will light the city till January 7, will be donated to Habitat For Humanity, a non-profit organisation headquartered at the United States. Christmas 2018 Trends: Beard Lights For Men Brightens Up The Holiday Season. 

Meet the donors. 

Shelby, 2018 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree

Oh yes, the tree has a name and this year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is named as Shelby. According to The New York Times, one of the donors, Shirley Figuera grew up in the Bronx with “no trees on my block”. A retired public servant, Figuera and her wife bought a home in Wallkill, New York. The property came with a towering 72-foot Norway Spruce Tree that a Rockefeller Center scout had already spotted. “Now it’s not my tree, it’s the world’s tree; I’m so happy to be able to share her with everyone,” Figueroa told the reporters as per The Associated Press.

Here are some more pictures! 

The tree is located in the middle of the Rockefeller Center complex reportedly between West 48th and 51st Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Millions of people will pay a visit Shelby throughout the holiday season. She will remain on display at her new midtown home until January 7, 2019.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 30, 2018 05:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).