Jerry Gao, Contributing Photographer

A 55-foot-tall Norway Spruce was transported and secured on the Green in front of City Hall by New Haven’s Department of Parks and Public Works on Nov. 7. 

The spruce, New Haven’s 111th Christmas tree, will be lit at the beginning of December. Planted by Bob O’Day in 1982, the tree was donated to the city by the O’Day family after the tree grew too much for their yard.

“I saw the big hole and it was a big work crew, they had the cranes and everything and they just lifted [the tree] up,” Carik Croft, who witnessed the tree’s delivery on his way to work, said. 

Lenny Speiller, director of communications for the Mayor’s Office, said in an email to the News that historically, all of the city’s Christmas trees have been donated by local families. This year, there were six offers to donate a tree.

Annie Mixsell, Tree Warden of the New Haven Parks Department, told the News that there are requirements for the tree’s species, height and appearance according to which Christmas tree is selected. The city looks for a Norway spruce that is 40’-50’ tall. Offers are accepted throughout the year and, ideally, the tree is selected by September, Mixsell added. 

This year, Mixsell wrote, “everything went smoothly” in the tree’s selection and delivery process. 

Croft, who just moved to New Haven from New York, told the News that despite being Muslim, he appreciated the tree’s presence.

“I grew up in a Christian household and one of the things I always was excited about was the tree, the lighting — just ushering in the new season, you know?” Croft said. “I always liked things that regardless of what race, religion, creed you are, bring people together.”

According to the Mayor’s Office, a Hanukkah menorah and Kwanzaa display will join the tree on the Green in the coming weeks. After the city’s tree lighting festival, the spruce will stay until shortly after Three Kings Day at the beginning of January. It will then be turned into mulch for use in parks and street tree plantings.

This year, New Haven will celebrate its 111th annual tree lighting festival on Dec. 5 after sunset.