when is rockefeller tree lighting 2025

The 2025 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, December 3, 2025, in the evening, with the televised event beginning around 7 p.m. Eastern and the actual lighting happening closer to 10 p.m. Eastern.

Exact date and time

• The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony for 2025 will take place on Wednesday, December 3, 2025.

• The live event and broadcast are planned to run from about 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern Time, with the switch-on of the lights occurring near the end of the program, around 10 p.m. Eastern.

How the date is chosen

• The lighting traditionally happens on the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving, and in 2025 Thanksgiving falls on November 27, which makes December 3 the expected ceremony date.

• Multiple event guides and TV listings for 2025 confirm that this pattern holds and specifically list Wednesday, December 3, 2025, as the official lighting date.

Visiting vs. watching from home

• In-person guides note that streets around Rockefeller Plaza (mainly 49th and 50th Streets between 5th and 6th Avenues) fill up very early, with viewing “pens” often opening by late afternoon and good spots usually requiring arrival hours beforehand.

• Many local New Yorkers suggest that, because of the heavy crowds, long waits, and lack of nearby public restrooms in the viewing area, watching the broadcast on TV or online can be a more comfortable way to experience the ceremony.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.