One family’s beloved Norway spruce received its claim to fame: it was selected as last year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree! The Today Show shared the evergreen’s heartwarming history on social media. Apparently, the decades-old tree was a monument to its owners’ wonderful marriage. Earl Albert is extremely proud that his beautiful conifer was on display for the holidays.
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Earl and his wife, Leslie, planted the massive Norway spruce on their property in 1967, at which point it was quite small. Back then, the couple would always decorate this tree at Christmastime. However, it became more and more of a challenge as the evergreen grew toward its current height of 74 feet. Eventually, they had to give up on this holiday tradition. That is, until the Rockefeller Center’s head gardener approached Earl about lighting up this gorgeous tree for the annual Christmas extravaganza!
The enormous conifer celebrated one last holiday hurrah, and its owner couldn’t be more pleased.
“Well, I consider it probably one of the greatest honors of my life,” Earl told Today.
This Christmas tree was a beautiful tribute to an elderly couple’s love.
Sadly, Leslie passed away before she could share this honor with her husband. In fact, Earl received the good news about the tree just days after losing her. Although this was a difficult time for him, he knew that his wife would have been happy to see their precious evergreen become the 2024 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. Since she always loved the holidays, it would be an incredible way to celebrate her memory!
According to the Rockefeller Center website, Earl and Leslie’s tree was cut on November 7. The ceremonial tree lighting took place on December 4. After that, it was illuminated every day throughout the holiday season!
When asked what he would be thinking about during the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting, Earl’s answer was simple: his wife. Isn’t that beautiful?
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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