Last night was the annual Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center. Singers sang, the Rockettes kicked and mankind celebrated. It was a lot of fun to watch from my living room in New Orleans, and made me so nostalgic for the many years I was actually there. (Including last year!) I'm so glad I always went, because those memories make me incredibly happy.
What also makes me happy is knowing that after glistening and glimmering and being the source of much holiday cheer, the trees go to good use: last year's tree was turned into lumber that built homes for Hurrican Katrina victims. One of the families even got to attend the show last night! Tracey Davison, 40, a teacher's assistant from Pascagoula, Miss and her four daughters: Ashunti, 10; Nylah, 9; Majsa, 8; and Karly, 4, were so excited to be in New York for the annual tree lighting. The family, who fled Katrina with just a few suitcases, recently moved into a new three-bedroom house built by Habitat for Humanity. Parts of the walls and floors in their living room were made with lumber from last year's tree. "It's been an awesome experience," said . "I have a famous living room because of the tree from last year, and my girls and I have had a spectacular trip to New York for the first time. It's kinda like Christmas before Christmas," said Davison. "It was a dream come true. We're very, very excited to be in the house."
In past years, the Rockefeller Center tree has been recycled after the holiday season, being made into toys for animals at the Bronx Zoo and mulched for hiking trails.
This year's tree is an eight-ton, 72-foot Norway spruce masterpiece. It is decorated with FIVE MILES of lights! Dad, what do you think about that??! But no tree could ever be as beautiful as ours. You do such a great job every year. Thanks!
I've loaded up the iPods with Christmas tunes and the speakers are going full blast. It's beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas! Now we just need to decorate the apartment. Our tree is about a foot tall, but what it lacks in height, it more than makes up for in holiday dazzle.
Information about the trees is from the AP.
2 comments:
Happy dazzlement! When our tree is chosen, cut down and standing tall in the family room, Dad shall go to work, spending hours and hours, so we have a magical tree. Then our part, of adding the ornaments, begins. We shall enjoy all your favorite Christmas tunes!
5 miles of lights, hmmm? I guess a couple of (or 6+) hours doing a bit of light magic is not so much when you think about that, or when you think about all the hours (or the 525,660 minutes) in a year, say.
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