The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree tradition began in 1931.
That first tree appeared during the Depression-era construction of Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. Italian, Greek, and Irish American workers pooled their money to obtain a roughly 20-foot balsam fir and decorated it on Christmas Eve with handmade garlands, cranberries, and even tin cans.
The early tree was an informal workers’ celebration rather than the polished public spectacle known today. Rockefeller Center’s first official lighting ceremony followed in 1933, when a 50-foot tree was installed and illuminated. That distinction explains why some accounts emphasize 1933, while the tradition itself is dated to 1931.
The skating rink opened beneath the plaza tree in 1936, helping establish the familiar Rockefeller Center setting. During World War II, the display used patriotic colors and was sometimes left unlit because of blackout rules. Today’s annual ceremony grew from that modest construction-site gesture into a major New York holiday event.