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New York celebrates Christmas tree lighting with tight security

Xinhua, December 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

New York City on Wednesday celebrated its annual lighting of a giant Christmas tree near Rockefeller Center with a heavy police presence, especially after the mass shooting in southern California.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is considered as a symbol of the holidays in New York City, and the annual tree lighting tradition in Manhattan can be dated back to 1933.

As the 45,000 lights went live with a star atop the 78-foot (24 meters) tall Norway Spruce, this year's ceremony featured performances from Sting, James Taylor, Mary J. Blige, Carly Rae Jepsen, Andrea Bocelli and other musical stars around its 47-foot (14 meters) wide base.

Hours before thousands of people gathered at Rockefeller Center, barricades went up on Fifth Avenue and surrounding blocks, and officers and New York Police Department (NYPD) vehicles were already in the area.

Last Thursday, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said that a lot of what people saw in Thanksgiving Day parade in terms of security will be in place throughout the entire holiday season.

He pointed out that the five weeks after Thanksgiving would be a really busy time for the city and for the New York City police department. Endi