2022 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Arrives, With No Owls In Sight

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — One of New York City's oldest and oddest holiday traditions resumed over the weekend, as a giant pine tree was trucked into Midtown and hoisted into place as this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

The tree, an 82-foot Norway spruce, assumed its position in Rockefeller Plaza on Saturday, two days after it was cut down in the upstate town of Queensbury and then loaded onto a flatbed truck for its 200-mile trip to the city.

It is estimated to be about 90 years old, according to the Associated Press.

"We gave it with the expectation that everybody would enjoy it," Neil Lebowitz, whose family donated the tree, told the New York Post.

"For me, it was just a nice tree," he added. "Now it’s a special tree. Everybody around the world can enjoy it."

This year's tree lighting will be held on Nov. 30.

The tree appeared to be free of any unexpected wild stowaways — unlike in 2020, when workers unwrapping the tree in Midtown were startled to discover a tiny, terrified saw-whet owl that had hidden away in the tree's branches since its was cut down upstate.

After several days of rest and care at a wildlife rehabilitation center, that hardy owl was released back into the wild.

The tradition began in 1931, when it was conceived by construction workers building Rockefeller Center. A formal tree lighting ceremony was first held two years later and the occasion has become more elaborate over time, first airing on national television in 1951.