The Rockefeller Christmas tree has been the centerpiece of New York’s Christmas celebrations since the Great Depression. But could the 2020 coronavirus pandemic have successfully diminished the grandeur of the famous tree?

In December of 1931, workers at the Rockefeller Center decided to pool their money together to put up and decorate a public, 20-foot tall balsam fir Christmas tree. Two years later, the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting ceremony became an annual event, and, since then, hundreds of millions of people have visited and taken pictures with it. Though nothing has ever stopped the annual Christmas tree from being put up, there have been numerous noteworthy incidents involving the tree in the past. 

In 1984, for example, crowds were astonished to see camels escorting the Christmas tree to Rockefeller center. Two years later, a seven-year-old girl stopped Christmas tree scouts from cutting down the spruce tree in her family's yard, so scouts had to find another balsam fir for that year. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, people not wanting to part with their beloved trees seems to be quite a common occurrence throughout the last 88 years. 

This year, the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting was scheduled for December 2nd. The tree—a supposed-to-be luscious 80-year-old, 75-foot-tall Norway spruce from Oneonta, New York—promised to spread joy into the hearts of those affected by the pandemic. The tree, however, did not immediately live up to expectations. On November 18th, while workers hoisted the tree up, observers noticed that it was unusually skinny, scraggly, and far from full. It appeared to have shed quite a few branches on its two-day truck ride to Manhattan, and many Twitter users noted that the tree was “the most 2020 thing yet.” Personally, I noticed that the tree looked like my bangs after I tried to cut them myself at gymnastics practice eight years ago. 

An unexpected surprise also awaited the workers who set up this year’s Christmas tree. A small owl, tucked away behind the branches, hid in the tree during the trip from Oneonta to Manhattan. Though they had to take the owl out of the tree, the owl is doing perfectly fine. If the tree was good enough for the owl, it will hopefully be good enough for New Yorkers.

What I did not know about the Christmas tree is that branches are often added to make the tree appear more full. Similar to a celebrity’s makeover before they hit the Met Gala, after a few “extensions” and a pretty hefty makeover, this year’s Rockefeller Christmas tree looks just as beautiful as the ones from years before. And, even though in-person attendance for the December 2nd tree lighting was forbidden, the lighting ceremony was broadcast to the homes of people all over the United States.

The 2020 Rockefeller Christmas tree looked quite disappointing when it first arrived in New York City, but it appears to have turned itself around into a gorgeous and festive symbol of Christmas. Perhaps if we attempt to get out of our sweatpants and do little self-care, we will end up just as beautiful as this year’s Rockefeller Christmas tree.