Oh, What Fun! 8-Ton Christmas Tree Stars in Rockefeller Plaza

An 8-ton, 72-foot-tall Norway spruce arrived in Manhattan Friday morning, where it was hoisted into place and will be dressed up for its starring role as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
 
The tree, which came from the Varanyak family in Hamilton, N.J., was lifted by a crane on Friday.

Scaffolding will be erected and then the decorating process will begin.
 
The family used it as their own Christmas tree in 1931, then planted it outdoors. Mary Varanyak, who died eight years ago, had predicted it would make it to Rockefeller Center one day.
 
While the first official lighting was in 1933, the first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was put up two years earlier by workers building the complex during the Depression.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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