The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree for 2025 will be lit on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, during the evening lighting ceremony that runs roughly from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern, with the actual moment the lights come on scheduled close to 10 p.m.

2025 lighting date

Multiple official and event guides state that the 2025 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony is on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan. This follows the long‑standing tradition of lighting the tree on the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving.

Time of the ceremony

Event schedules indicate the televised ceremony runs from about 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern Time, with the tree actually lit near the end of the broadcast, close to 10 p.m. If attending in person, guidance from local event resources recommends arriving hours earlier because streets around 49th–50th between Fifth and Sixth Avenues become extremely crowded.

Daily lighting hours after

After the ceremony, the tree is typically lit every day from 5 a.m. to midnight through early January, with 24‑hour lighting on Christmas Eve and an earlier shutoff around 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. The tree usually remains on display until mid‑January before being taken down and its wood donated for use as lumber.