Christmas tree lights up NYC for holidays

It was time for a selfie for this couple who attended the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting on Wednesday. Zhou Pai / China Daily

Thousands of people jammed the sidewalks of Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday night for the 85th lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree as millions more across the globe watched on television.

The 75-foot Norway spruce is wrapped in five miles of 50,000 multicolored lights.

The tree lighting is broadcast each year by NBC-TV, which is located across from the plaza where the tree stands. Matt Lauer, one of the anchors of NBC's popular "Today" show, was set to co-host the network's tree lighting show, but on Wednesday NBC announced that it had fired Lauer, 59, after a staffer filed a complaint Monday night about "inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace".

On Twitter, US President Donald Trump said, "Wow, Matt Lauer was just fired from NBC for 'inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.' But when will the top executives at NBC & Comcast be fired for putting out so much Fake News."

China Daily