A giant Christmas tree has arrived at the Rockefeller Center in New York City, in the United States. Its arrival kicks off one of the world’s best-known Christmas traditions.
The 75-year-old Norway spruce came from West Edmeston, a town in New York state. It was carried to Midtown Manhattan on a large truck on Friday night, with a police escort.
The tree is 76 feet tall. That’s about 23 metres, or roughly as high as a seven-storey building.
A crane lifted the tree off the truck so workers could attach a spike to its base, which will help hold it steady. Workers even climbed into the branches to add wires and ropes before the tree was lifted into place, while a large crowd watched and filmed.
Next, crews will wrap the tree in 50,000 lights and put a Swarovski crystal star on top. The star weighs 900 pounds, about 400 kilograms, which is roughly as heavy as a grand piano.
The lights will be switched on on 2 December, and the tree will stay up until 9 January.
How it all began
The tradition started in 1931, when construction workers building the Rockefeller Center pooled their money to buy a 20-foot (about 6-metre) tree. They decorated it with handmade paper garlands, cranberries and tin cans.
In 1933 it became an official yearly event.
Millions of people are expected to visit the tree over the Christmas season.
Te Reo Māori
Kupu matua: Kua tae te rākau Kirihimete nunui ki Niu Ioka
Kua tae mai tētahi rākau Kirihimete nunui ki te Rockefeller Center i Niu Ioka, i Amerika. Ko tōna taenga mai te tīmatanga o tētahi o ngā tikanga Kirihimete rongonui rawa o te ao.
He Norway spruce te rākau, ā, e 75 ōna tau. I ahu mai i West Edmeston, he tāone i te kāwanatanga o Niu Ioka. I kawea i runga i tētahi taraka nui ki Midtown Manhattan i te pō o te Paraire, me ngā pirihimana e haere tahi ana.
E 76 putu te teitei o te rākau. Tata ki te 23 mita tēnā, arā, he rite ki te teitei o tētahi whare e whitu ōna papa.
I hikitia te rākau i te taraka e tētahi crane, kia taea ai e ngā kaimahi te titi i tētahi koikoi ki tōna take. Mā tēnei e mau pūmau ai te rākau. I piki anō ngā kaimahi ki roto i ngā peka ki te tāpiri waea me ngā taura i mua i te hikinga o te rākau ki tōna tūranga, ā, i te mātakitaki tētahi tini tāngata, me te hopu ataata.
Ā muri ake nei, ka tākaihia e ngā kaimahi te rākau ki ngā rama 50,000, ā, ka whakanohoia he whetū karaihe Swarovski ki runga. E 900 pāuna te taumaha o te whetū, tata ki te 400 kirokaramu. He rite tērā ki te taumaha o tētahi piana nui.
Ka whakakāngia ngā rama i te 2 o Hakihea, ā, ka tū tonu te rākau tae noa ki te 9 o Kohitātea.
Te tīmatanga
I tīmata tēnei tikanga i te tau 1931. I taua wā, i kohia e ngā kaimahi e hanga ana i te Rockefeller Center ā rātou moni hei hoko i tētahi rākau 20 putu (tata ki te 6 mita). I whakapaipaitia e rātou ki ngā tauwhiri pepa i hangaia ā-ringa, ki ngā cranberry, me ngā kēne tine.
I te tau 1933, ka noho hei huihuinga ā-tau ōkawa.
E ai ki te tūmanako, ka toro mai ngā miriona tāngata ki te rākau i te wā o te Kirihimete.
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