Governor Cuomo recently updated New Yorkers on the arrival of the Rockefeller  Christmas Tree and the progress the city has made thus far. As long as they continue to wear their masks and practice social distancing, the light-up for the tree remains on schedule. Governor Cuomo is aware of how exhausting this year has been for the majority of the city’s population, “…We all have COVID fatigue, but we simply don’t have the luxury of letting our guard down – COVID isn’t tired.” 

Although Governor Murphy of New Jersey insists on avoiding extended family members for the upcoming holidays, Governor Cuomo has had the iconic Rockefeller tree placed in Midtown Manhattan on November 14th, and it’s expected to be lit throughout the holiday season. The Rockefeller tree has been a tradition in the City of New York ever since 1931, as the construction workers at Rockefeller Center placed money aside to put the 20 foot tree up to show their gratitude for having a job during the Great Depression. 

Originally, the Rockefeller tree was supposed to be placed on December 2nd – but it had been placed early to “bring light” to this year. The tree will remain without it’s Christmas lights until December 2nd, but will remain lit until after the holiday season comes to a close, in mid January. Although, it is expected that restaurants and shops will be closing due to an increase in COVID-19 cases; Rockefeller center will remain open with their ice skating and viewings of the tree’s lights. 

Although the tree was placed already, there were many comments on how disappointing the tree looked. Some might say, it was a tree specially handed for the year of 2020 as it is barely a tree. Due to the short amount of branches to hang the lights, viewers can predict that the Tree won’t look like it has in the past.