Last night was the annual lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza in NYC so I thought it fitting to let you know a little trivia about this 77-year old tradition. Did you know that the first Christmas tree was erected by construction workers who were so thankful to have work in 1931 during the Great Depression. Here it is 77 years later and the country is once again part of a worldwide economic downturn. In 1931 it was thanks to John D. Rockefeller Jr. who created jobs for thousands of people by creating what is known today as Rockefeller Center. The first tree was a simple 20-foot balsam, which the workers draped with makeshift garlands and tin cans as decoration. The tree gave a gaping hole between 49th and 50th streets in Midtown Manhattan a festive feeling as the men lined up next to the tree to receive their paychecks on Christmas Eve 1931. For some, it was their first paycheck in weeks, if not months.
This year's tree was decorated with 30,000 energy-efficient LED lights on five miles of wire, topped with a 750-pound star made of 25,000 Swarovski crystals. It was donated by the Varanyak family in Hamilton Township, N.J. Mrs. Varanyak planted the tree in the 1930s with the hope that it would someday be chosen as the Rockefeller Christmas tree.
No comments:
Post a Comment