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[title]2026 is a milestone year for the holidays in New York State. This holiday season marks Macy’s 100th Thanksgiving Day Parade; the 80th anniversary of It’s a Wonderful Life, the beloved movie inspired by New York’s own Seneca Falls; the 90th anniversary of The Rink at Rockefeller Center and the 25th anniversary of the Winter Village at Bryant Park. And the numbers don’t stop there: from the world’s tallest menorah and the biggest New Year’s Eve ball ever dropped in NYC to Syracuse’s 600,000+ lights on the lake and the hundreds of Christmas tree farms dotting the state, we’ve got all the facts, stats and dates you need to learn about the holidays in New York State.
Whether you’re planning a trip to NYC or a cozy upstate getaway full of snowy fields, New York State is where new holiday traditions can be made every year. With Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s all putting up the numbers, you can plan your perfect holiday in New York State. (And you don’t even need to use your calculator!)
1. 100: Feet of the tallest Rockefeller Center Christmas tree ever
In 1999, this majestic Norway spruce made history. Because it was so large, it was tough to squeeze through the city streets, so we might never see one this tall again.
2. 295,200: The number of Christmas trees New York State produces
With over 875 Christmas tree farms growing on 20,000 acres, New York trees bring holiday cheer to nearly 300,000 houses every year.
3. 5,280: Crystals in the Times Square Ball
The Constellation Ball, which debuted in 2025, is the biggest ball ever. At 12.5 feet wide and 12,350 pounds, it’s dripping in 5,280 Waterford crystals for maximum sparkle as it drops.
4. 650: Kicks performed by a Rockette per day
With up to 200 kicks per show, each Rockette can do more than 600 kicks in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular during the busy holiday season.
5. 32: Feet of the World’s Largest Menorah
At 32 feet tall and weighing nearly 4,000 pounds, this record-breaking Hanukkah menorah is the largest allowable by Jewish law.
6. 100: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parades
First held in 1924, and then canceled ‘42–’44 during WWII, this year marks the 100th year of the parade with (you guessed it!) 100 inflatables.
7. 600,000: Lights at Lights on the Lake
This two-mile show at Onondaga Lake Park has hundreds of glittering holiday displays with more than 600,000 lights.
8. 31: Feet of the growing tree in Lincoln Center’s The Nutcracker
In the iconic production of George Balanchine’s holiday ballet, the one-ton Christmas tree grows from 12 to 41 feet right before your eyes.
9. 80: Years of watching It’s a Wonderful Life
Seneca Falls, the city believed to be the inspiration for the film’s Bedford Falls, is marking the anniversary at the annual It’s a Wonderful Life Festival.
10. 1949: The year Santa’s Workshop opened in New York’s North Pole
This Adirondack hamlet first opened Santa’s workshop on July 1, 1949, so Santa, his reindeer and the elves can have a home in New York State.
11. 17,000: Square feet of Bryant Park’s Winter Village ice rink
Take in the holiday magic in NYC while you glide across the ice, then stop for hot cocoa or wander the holiday shops.
12. 60: Years of Kwanzaa celebrated at the largest Kwanzaa festival in NYC
The Brooklyn Children’s Museum celebrates Kwanzaa, which was first started in 1966, with a week of candle-lighting, performances and art-making.
13. 3,000: Pounds of confetti in Times Square on NYE
This rainbow, biodegradable confetti will fall down on revelers from around the world to ring in 2027.
14. 25,000: Lights wrapped around the Keg Tree at Genesee Brew House
At nearly 30 feet high, Rochester’s three-story Keg Tree is made from more than 650 empty kegs and wrapped in tens of thousands of twinkling lights.
15. 200: Miniature landmarks at the New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show
Nearly 200 tiny, twinkling city landmarks, made from natural materials like pine cones and cinnamon sticks, create the cityscape for the holiday trains.
16. 1823: The year ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas was published in Troy, NY
First published in the Troy Sentinel, this Christmas poem has been beloved by generations of families around the world ever since.
17. 100,000: Annual visitors to the Dyker Heights Christmas lights
The magical home displays in this cozy Brooklyn neighborhood draw locals and tourists to sip hot cocoa and ooh and aah over the decorations.
18. 7: Degrees Fahrenheit, the lowest-recorded temperature at Coney Island’s Polar Bear Plunge
In 2018, the air temperature reached a record low for the New Year’s Day tradition of a plunge into the icy waters of Coney Island.
19. 80: Light bulbs in the first string of Christmas lights
The VP of the Edison Electric Company first wrapped electric lights around his tree at 139 E. 36th Street.
20. 1,000,000: Lights at the Fairgrounds Festival of Lights
Western New York’s largest light festival takes over the Hamburg fairgrounds with a magical drive-through holiday experience of over 1 million lights.