Wednesday 30th November at 9:01 pm: That’s it! There is no word to describe what I saw… Let’s get back to few days before that night to understand my disappointment. After an amazing Thanksgiving dinner, I was preparing myself to get ready to the worldwide famous lighting of the 2011 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.
Since Macy’s parade with the first appearance of Santa Claus, Christmas is everywhere. All your senses recognize and appreciate it. You can smell it through the Christmas trees popped up last week-end on the sidewalks. You can taste it in the Christmas Market while you are crunching on an irresistible ginger bread man. You can touch it while you are trying to choose your tree. You can hear it on the street with all the bells ringing and the songs spreading. Finally, you can see it in the new clothing of the city which is dressing up for the occasion. However, I know that the real signal is the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.
It’s a long tradition that started in 1933. Since then, this worldwide event has become the official kick off of the Christmas season. It’s not only broadcasted on NBC, but also on numerous international channels. This point is crucial in our story…
Therefore, there was no way I could miss this popular event. Because of the usual crowd at this period of the year, I took all my precautions and arrived on 49st at 3 pm, whether 4 hours before the beginning of the show. Believe it or not, the place was already invaded by a crowd of people on 49st and 50th streets the only sides with a clear view opened to the public. It’s true that I had a long time to think about the event while I was waiting in the cold. My expectations grew. I will let you build your own idea even if I am pretty sure I am not overreacting.
At 7 pm, the two presenters of NBC launched the event on NBC. They promised to everybody a memorable evening with several artists performances singing Christmas songs before the much anticipated lighting of the tree. I was excited, it was the exact message I wanted to hear. Among the artists present, you had Michael Bublé, Tommy Benett, Big Time Rush, Justin Bieber, and plenty of other stars. Wait a minute, did I say artists present? I am sorry, my mistake. I meant “recorded”.
The magic of TV has taken over the reality. The only “live part” was the crowd, I mean “us” and of course the tree, fortunately. Everything else was a result of TV editing. The different artists performances were recorded at a different moment, but the presenters introduced them as it was a live show. Concretely, both publics, the one in their home and us, were watching TV.
The Rockefeller Center was equipped by 3 big screens broadcasting the different shows. Therefore, after almost 2 hours interrupted by commercial breaks without the commercials, of watching TV minus the comfort of home, the final moment finally came. The highlight of the evening was going to start; we were going to have the wonderful experience to see the lighting of the giant tree. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Merry Christmas! That’s it. Less than 10 seconds… The tree lights were turned on. At that moment, I understood, why some people told me they prefer to see the lights another day. In fact you have a whole month to see them, and in better conditions! So, again, that’s it!
For sure, the biggest winner of this year is Mr Justin Bieber who was the star of the whole show by interpreting 4 different songs alone or in a duo with prestigious partners as Usher or Mariah Carey. By just mentioning his name or screening his performance he can make the girls (mostly) screem. Chapeau bas…
By Kenza Yarhfouri
