Last year, after the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was taken down, it was cut into strips, treated, and donated to Habitat for Humanity, which then used it in building projects for needy families all over the globe.

    It was an 84-foot, 9-ton Norway spruce that came from the home of Joseph and Judy Rivnyak of Shelton, Connecticut--a donation literally enjoyed by millions. 

    Back in 1931, during the Great Depression, the first tree ever to grace the 12-acre midtown Manhattan site (still under construction at the time) was a bitty little 20-foot balsam. It had no spectacular solar-powered L.E.D. lights or 550-pound, nine-foot Swarovski star atop it, as the trees do today. Instead, the tree was draped in hand-strung tin cans and garlands, while, alongside it, desperate construction workers lined up to receive their Christmas Eve paychecks. "For some, it was their first paycheck in weeks, if not months," says Nancy Armstrong in her new book, The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree (Cider Mill Press, November 2008). "As each man approached the clerk, who was standing next to the tree distributing the wages, he must have thought himself part of a true Christmas miracle."

                     Image courtesy Cider Mill Press   

The first "official" Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was erected two years later, in 1933, complete with a full holiday program. Today, the tree continues to be--for those who see it up close, on TV, or in countless seasonal movies--a central part of the holiday season, an item of beauty, wonder, and inspiration.

More than 50 photos grace this delightful book of 146 pages, each offering another window into the tradition of the tree. Nuggets of information and history are sprinkled throughout the narrative. (And I didn't mind the occasional sentimentality here, by the way. It's the holiday season, after all.)

    A "tree timeline" at the back of the book lists every tree from 1931 to 2007 and its particulars--size, origin, and species (the remarkable Norway spruce has been used most often). For details on this year's so-called "miracle tree" from New Jersey, check out this link.

    This book makes a fine gift. All four members of my household, including the youngest, age 11, have already spent time with it, and I've shared it with colleagues and friends. Everybody oohs and aahs over it. The front cover alone is gorgeous.

    Price of the hardcover is $12.95. It's available right now for less than $10 at www.biggerbooks.com.