The four most famous Christmas trees

Cheapflights.com did a little digging to find the roots of these four tourist-favorite trees. So this year, when you’re snapping a selfie in front of the giant spruce at Rockefeller Center, you’ll know a thing or two about it.

Rockefeller Center, New York

There’s nothing quite like the magic of New York City during the holidays. This season, the famous Rockefeller Center is “spruced” up by an 85-foot, 13-ton tree, which was grown in Danville, Pennsylvania. The Sigafoos family, who live on a farm 155 miles from New York, had the honor of donating the Norway spruce. After taking the journey to the Big Apple, the 90-year-old tree was brightened with 45,000 LED lights and topped with a 9 1/2-foot-wide Swarovski star during the 82nd annual ceremony. In true Christmas Spirit, after the tree has been taken down in January, its wood will be used to build homes for Habitat for Humanity.

Daley Plaza, Chicago

There’s no place like home for the holidays, which is why the city of Chicago ensures the Christmas tree lighting up Daley Plaza is always grown within 100 miles of its famed Loop. This year’s tree hails from Elgin, Illinois, and is donated by the Atkinson family, who finally landed the honor after four years of persistence. For the past three years, the tree that stood in their front yard was selected as runner-up in the contest, but the 57-foot Colorado blue spruce finally made its big debut at the Nov. 25 tree lighting ceremony headlined by Dee Snider of Twisted Sister. Chicago residents and visitors of the city can rock around the Christmas tree through January.

The White House, Washington, D.C.

Those of you dreaming of a white (house) Christmas will be interested to know this year’s National Christmas tree has journeyed from the state of Pennsylvania all the way to Pennsylvania Avenue. Since 1966, the National Christmas Tree Association has held a contest to select the tree that will be enjoyed by the first family. Chris Botek, a second-generation Christmas tree farmer from Leighton, won this year’s competition, as well as previous contests in 2006 and 2010, making his farm the only one to donate a tree to the White House three times. Adhering to tradition, the 18 1/2-foot Douglas fir was received by Michelle Obama and trimmed down to fit inside the Blue Room, which has since become a lot more red and green.

Boston Common, Boston

Oh, Christmas tree, oh, Canada! For the past 43 years the city of Boston has had some help celebrating the holidays from its northern neighbors. Boston’s official tree, which stands in the Boston Common, is given as an annual token of appreciation from Nova Scotia. In 1917, Boston stepped in to provide emergency assistance when Halifax, Nova Scotia, was in danger from an explosion. In 1918, Halifax showed its gratitude by gifting the city with a Christmas tree, a gesture that was repeated in 1973 and has been a holiday tradition ever since. This year’s Boston tree is a 43-foot white spruce that is estimated to be around 55 years old.