Editing Macy's Great Tree (section)

==The Lighting of the Great Tree==
Through 2014, the [[grand illumination]] [[ceremony]] occurred on [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] night, no matter the weather.  Since the 1980s, it has been regularly aired on television station [[WSB-TV]], which now shows it in high definition.  [[Christmas carol]]s are sung by various music celebrities and local groups, and at least one is usually chimed by a [[bell (instrument)|bell]] [[choir]].  The tree is lit near the very end of the hour on the highest [[musical note|note]] of "[[O Holy Night]]" (during the line "O Night Divine"), and remains lit every night at least through [[New Year's Eve]].  Since at least 2012, a fireworks display immediately follows the lighting.

For years the ceremony had been held from 7:00 to 8:00 PM, but for 2013 it was moved an hour earlier due to the store opening. For 2014, it was moved another hour earlier, so that it was not yet even completely dark during the lighting, with local sunset occurring at 5:30pm.  For 2015, the store will open even earlier, which would force the lighting into the afternoon.  For this reason, the 67-year Thanksgiving tradition was abandoned, pushing the lighting to the Sunday before.

Originally, four choirs sang from the north face of the Crystal Bridge, which connected all but the lower two levels of the downtown Rich's over Forsyth Street. Each of the four [[storey|floor]]s of choirs, ordered from bottom to top, sang during the program.  [[wikt:faux|Faux]] [[stained glass]] panels (still used by Macy's) were put in the bridge's windows on either side (left and right) of each choir, giving the ceremony an almost church-like effect.  [[Street light]]s were turned off in the area below so there was no [[Light pollution#Glare|glare]] for the thousands of spectators that gathered every year regardless of the weather.  The host/[[storytelling|storyteller]] of those earlier days was Bob van Camp of [[WSB (AM)|WSB]] Atlanta radio and television, and once the [[organist]] at the [[Fox Theatre (Atlanta)|Fox Theatre]].

The ceremony, in those days, was based on the reading of the traditional [[birth of Christ]], i.e. the "Christmas Story", unlike today's more generic "holiday" themes and music.<ref>The Great Tree: 1949/http://www.atlantatimemachine.com/downtown/richs6.htm</ref>

Over the years the crowds grew.  The venue expanded to include the south side of the bridge. Thus, four more choirs were added.  Although heard by everyone, the ceremony of choirs alternated between the bridge facings.  For the conclusion of the ceremony, all of the bridge choirs (of both musical eras) were lighted on every floor, and leading towards the [[Solo (music)|soloist]]'s highest note in "O Holy Night", at which point the lights on the great tree burst alive to shine on downtown Atlanta.

Before rock and roll became the predominant form of popular music in the 1970s, the [[Christmas carol]]s were sung in a traditional, even classical manner, but in more modern times, nearly all of them have tended to be performed in a gospel music style, including "O Holy Night".  In earlier years, for example, "O Holy Night" was performed by an operatic soprano, while in 2006, it was performed by [[LeAnn Rimes]].  The 2009 concert included country music singer [[Josh Turner]] and gospel singer [[Mandisa]] (who sang the [[keynote]]), and [[dance crew]] [[SoReal Cru]] using remixed versions of classic Christmas songs from ''Merry Mixmas'' and other albums.

Beginning in 2015 the lighting of Macy's Great Tree, that year the "68th edition of the Great Tree", was changed from Thanksgiving night to the Sunday before Thanksgiving, at 7:00PM <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/macys-lenox-square-celebrates-magical-68th-annual-/26972464|title=Macy's at Lenox Square Celebrates Magical 68th Annual Great...|date=November 10, 2015|website=WSBTV}}</ref> This returned the ceremony to its traditional time, well after sunset at the western edge of the [[Eastern Standard Time (North America)|Eastern time zone]]. When asked specifically about the reason for the move from Thursday to Sunday, a Macy's spokesperson claimed "It's what our customers want." However, the apparent reason behind the move is so that Macy's could start their [[Black Friday (shopping)|Black Friday]] sale even earlier on Thanksgiving. From 2015 through 2019, the ceremony was held on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. In 2020, it was again moved, to the Thursday a week before Thanksgiving. The 2020 ceremony was restricted to a small invitation-only private event, due to COVID. The 2021 ceremony was also private, by invitation only. The 75th ceremony will take place Thursday, November 17, 2022.