Throughout the years the city’s official tree frequently has consisted of many smaller trees.
Since 2009, however, a single tree has been chosen by either a contest or nominations. Though the tree’s location has been changed several times since then — including a move in 2015 to Millennium Park — the lighting ceremony has always been a highlight of the holiday season.
The Dec. 20, 1913, edition of The Chicago Daily Tribune showed an illustration of Chicago's giant Christmas tree on display in Grant Park next to the Art Institute. It was the first municipal Christmas tree for the city.
The city’s first official Christmas tree was lit on Christmas Eve 1913 by Mayor Carter H. Harrison Jr., as heralding trumpets played atop the balcony of the Chicago Athletic Association building on Michigan Avenue.
The tree was placed in Grant Park atop 40-foot poles — studded with smaller trees to give the appearance of a much larger tree — and decorated with 600 multi-colored lights. The 35-foot Douglas spruce was a gift of F.J. Jordan, in honor of his deceased friend Capt. Herman Scheunemann. Scheunemann commanded the vessel known as the Christmas tree ship.
Where Chicago’s official Christmas trees have come from
2009: The Weivoda family, Palos Heights
Santa Claus waves to the crowd after lighting the 96th Annual Christmas tree at Daley Plaza on Nov. 25, 2009. The tree was donated by the Weivoda family, left, of Palos Heights.
Crowds braved the weather to watch as a Christmas tree was lit at Daley Plaza on Nov. 24, 2010. Mayor Richard Daley and his wife, Maggie, were joined for the festivities by their grandchildren as well as actress Joan Cusak and John and Pat Colomer (John is shown on the right), who own the farm where the tree came from. More than 5,000 votes were cast for the 70-foot blue spruce from McHenry County.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel waves to the crowd after the lights for Chicago’s official holiday tree are activated on Nov. 23, 2011. The tree, a 55-foot blue spruce, was chosen as the best among 38 entries to become the winner in the city’s Christmas tree contest, and is courtesy of the Spangler family in Western Springs, right.
Megan Theiszmann, from left, her father Tony, Tony’s mother Barbara and Tony’s sister Kathy Patton watch on Nov. 1, 2012, from the front yard of the family home as a giant, 63-year-old Colorado spruce is removed to be erected in Daley Plaza as Chicago’s Christmas tree. The tree was 64-feet-tall.
Homeowner Terri Moore, right, poses for a family photo with her daughters on a tree stump on Nov. 7, 2013, as workers move their freshly cut 57-foot Colorado blue Spruce tree, which was chosen as the Christmas tree for Daley Plaza. The tree was taken to an awaiting flatbed truck from her yard in South Holland.
Left: In the shadow of the newly lit Christmas tree, people shop at the Christkindlmarket in Chicago’s Daley Plaza on Nov. 25, 2014. The tree came from the Atkinson family’s front yard in Elgin, right.
Right: Fireworks illuminate the audience after Mayor Rahm Emanuel orders the lighting of the tree during the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Millennium Park on Nov. 24 2015, in Chicago. The Colorado blue spruce was donated by the Voelker family of Northlake, left.
People take and pose for pictures in front of the Chicago Christmas tree following the annual tree lighting ceremony at Millennium Park on Nov. 18, 2016.
Left: A portrait of Frank and Darlene Dorfler sits on the stump of the Norway spruce tree that the Dorfler family donated to the city of Chicago for its annual Christmas tree in Millennium Park, right, on Nov. 2, 2017 in Grayslake. The tree was 62 feet long and weighed about 9500 pounds.
Workers lift and remove a 60 foot Norway spruce from the home of Deborah Orth of Elmhurst on Nov. 1, 2018, to become Chicago’s 105th Christmas tree.
Crowds attend the annual Christmas tree lighting at Millennium Park in 2018.
Height: 60 feet
Type: Norway spruce
2019: The Nelson family, Elgin
Adam Melton, 8, jumps off of a tree stump while his 5-year-old brother, Jace Melton, watches at their grandparents, Connie and Gene Nelson’s, home in Elgin. The Nelson’s 55-foot-tall, 7,000-pound blue spruce was the Chicago city Christmas Tree on Nov. 7, 2019.
A person documents the moment while attending the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Chicago’s Millennium Park on Nov. 22, 2019.
Catherine Townsend, 85, watches as workers cut and transport her 45-foot Blue Spruce tree from her yard in Chicago’s Morgan Park neighborhood on Nov. 6, 2020.
Workers prepare to transport the 45-foot Blue Spruce tree donated by Catherine Townsend, 85, of Chicago’s Morgan Park neighborhood on Nov. 6, 2020.
Armando L. Sanchez / baiduhai
Siblings John Williams, 14, from left, Javarius Williams, 15, Jordan Crowder, 1, and Jaelen Williams, 12, look at lights and decorations during a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony Dec. 6, 2020, in Washington Park in Chicago.
People crowd around the Chicago Christmas tree after the tree lighting ceremony at Millennium Park Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, in Chicago.
Height: 51 feet
Type: Blue spruce
2022: The Glisovic family, Morton Grove
A 53-year-old Colorado spruce tree from the home of Mike and Vesna Glisovic, in the 6600 block of Church Street, Morton Grove, lies on a flatbed truck for transport to Chicago as the city’s official Christmas tree in Millennium Park in 2022.Two people take a selfie in front of Chicago’s Christmas tree during the tree lighting ceremony in Millennium Park on Nov. 18, 2022. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)
BrightView Landscaping employees Carlos Montero, left, and Dennis Pfaff, right, secure a chain to the base of the Delacruz family’s 45-foot Colorado Blue Spruce tree as it is lowered onto the bed of a truck in Darien on Nov. 3, 2023. The tree will become the 110th Annual City of Chicago Christmas Tree.
Christmas tree lighting
Chris Sweda/baiduhai
Fireworks explode as the Chicago Christmas tree is lit in Millennium Park during the annual tree-lighting ceremony, Nov. 17, 2023.
Height: 45 feet
Type: Colorado blue spruce
2024: The Mulligan family, Logan Square
Workers lift Chicago’s 2024 Christmas tree, a 53-foot Colorado blue spruce planted 50 years ago by former homeowner Jim Mulligan, in the Logan Square neighborhood on Nov. 1, 2024. The tree is heading for Millennium Park, where it will be lit during a ceremony on Nov. 22 at 6 p.m. (Tess Crowley/baiduhai)Thomas Vang, from Minnesota, captures images of Chicago's official Christmas tree at the lighting ceremony, Nov. 22, 2024, in Millennium Park. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)
Sources: Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; baiduhai archive photos and stories; pine tree by Mark McCormick from the Noun Project
