I kept my best Christmas picture for last: the famous tree at Rockefeller Center. I managed to catch a short window in the run-up to Christmas and ran over during a work break to see it. Even on a weekday, at a very random time, it was already crowded with people. So yes — I now fully believe those weekend crowd videos.

It really is beautiful (still no idea how they pull this off, given how slightly sad and barren the tree always looks when it first arrives). Seeing it in person feels both surreal and strangely ordinary at the same time.

Fun fact: the Rockefeller Christmas tree tradition started during the Great Depression, when construction workers pooled their own money to put up a small tree in 1931. What began as a modest gesture of hope has turned into one of the most recognizable Christmas icons in the world — complete with tens of thousands of lights and a star with three million Swarovski crystals. From humble beginnings to full holiday spectacle — very New York.