The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting ceremony is scheduled for early December each year, typically the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving; for the 2025–2026 season, it took place on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, and future ceremonies are expected to follow the same pattern.

Key date pattern

  • The tree lighting is traditionally held on the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving in the United States.
  • In 2025, Thanksgiving fell on November 27, so the official Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony was on Wednesday, December 3, 2025.
  • Public guidance for upcoming years notes that the ceremony continues to follow this post‑Thanksgiving Wednesday tradition, with the exact date confirmed closer to the holidays.

Time and TV details

  • The live “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” broadcast typically runs in the evening, around 7–10 p.m. local time, with the actual moment the lights turn on closer to the end of the program (around 9–10 p.m.).
  • The ceremony features performances from well‑known singers and the Rockettes and is aired nationally on NBC and streaming via Peacock.

Visiting the tree after lighting

  • Once lit, the tree stays illuminated daily from early morning (around 5–6 a.m.) until midnight through early to mid‑January.
  • On Christmas Eve it remains lit 24 hours, and on New Year’s Eve the lights typically turn off earlier in the evening (around 9 p.m.).

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