Rockefeller Christmas Tree 2026: Arrives Nov. 7, Lighting Wednesday, Dec. 2

The 2026 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony is Wednesday, Dec. 2, from 7 to 10 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), and the tree arrives at Rockefeller Plaza on Saturday, Nov. 7, according to Rockefeller Center. The ceremony is not open to the public; the tree is lit near the end of NBC’s Christmas in Rockefeller Center broadcast.

Rockefeller Center has posted the two dates and the tree’s size and origin, but says NBC will announce the broadcast’s airtime, performers and streaming availability closer to the event. Every fact below comes from Rockefeller Center’s own pages unless noted; where a detail has not been announced, we say so.

When the 2026 Rockefeller tree lighting starts in each time zone

Rockefeller Center lists the ceremony as “Wednesday, December 2, from 7–10 PM ET.” Because it runs at one moment, the window falls an hour earlier in each zone to the west:

Time zone	Lighting ceremony window
Eastern Time (ET)	7 to 10 p.m.
Central Time (CT)	6 to 9 p.m.
Mountain Time (MT)	5 to 8 p.m.
Pacific Time (PT)	4 to 7 p.m.

The tree is lit near the end of the NBC broadcast, so the exact minute of the lighting depends on the airtime NBC has not yet announced.

Where the 2026 Rockefeller Christmas tree is from

The 2026 tree is a 76-foot-tall Norway spruce from West Edmeston, New York, in Otsego County. Rockefeller Center says it is about 75 years old, measures 50 feet in diameter and weighs about 11 tons. amNewYork reported that it was donated by Rebecca Decker, and NBC New York reported that crews were expected to cut it down on Nov. 5.

The tradition dates back to 1931, and the first formal Tree Lighting Ceremony followed in 1933, according to Rockefeller Center. For more than three decades, Rockefeller Center’s head gardener, Erik Pauzé, has played a central role in selecting the annual tree.

Rockefeller tree 2026 dates to mark

• Saturday, Nov. 7: The tree arrives in New York City on the second annual Meet the Tree Day. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Holiday Workshop is free and open to the public, with admission on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Wednesday, Dec. 2: The Tree Lighting Ceremony runs from 7 to 10 p.m. ET and airs on NBC.
• Thursday, Dec. 3: A Holiday Top of the Rock ticket begins to include up-close access to the tree.
• Mid-January 2027: The tree remains on display through mid-January, after which it is milled into lumber and donated to Habitat for Humanity.

How to watch the Rockefeller tree lighting

The tree lighting is free, and there are no public tickets for the ceremony. The area closest to the tree is reserved for invited guests and the broadcast, so spectators watch from the surrounding streets on a first-come, first-served basis. Rockefeller Center tells visitors to expect security checkpoints, street closures and a crowd that begins to build in the early afternoon.

From home, viewers can watch NBC’s Christmas in Rockefeller Center broadcast; the tree is lit near the end. The host, performers and streaming availability for the 2026 broadcast have not been announced.

Once the tree is up, viewing it from the Plaza is free, with the best view from the Channel Gardens along Fifth Avenue. Daily public viewing hours have not been posted. You can mark the season on our December 2026 printable calendar or count down to Christmas Day 2026.

The tree’s lights and the Swarovski star

Rockefeller Center says the tree carries more than 50,000 multicolored light-emitting diode (LED) lights strung along approximately five miles of wire. The Swarovski star, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind in 2018, weighs about 900 pounds; it features 70 spikes covered in three million crystals.

For the rest of the city’s season, from the Macy’s parade to the skating rinks, see our NYC holiday calendar for 2026. Plan earlier dates on our November 2026 printable calendar.