8. The lights on the Rockefeller Center Tree stretch 5 miles

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
Rockefeller Center’s Christmas Tree attracts thousands each December.

The iconic Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is as much a staple of a new York Christmas as the Rockettes or the Christmas Spectacular. While the first tree, erected in 1933, was only about 20 ft tall, today, the tree can be anywhere from 60 to 100 ft. The tree now stands for much longer — up to a month before Christmas — compared to the first tree, which Rockefeller Center erected on Christmas Eve.

Today, officials embark on a helicopter tour of upstate New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Ohio, and Pennsylvania to find the perfect tree. Delivered to Rockefeller in the middle of the night, the tree is decorated with thousands of LED lights before being hoisted to the center of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. If plugged in end to end, the lights on the Rockefeller Center tree would stretch 5 miles, which is about the distance from 110th Street to 14th Street along Broadway. To add to the feat, the Swarovski star at the top weighs 550 pounds, and the tree does not require water for the entire month because its enormous size can retain enough water to keep it alive.