The Anthem Christmas tree is a

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern G ...

erected annually at the Outlets North Phoenix, an

outlet mall An outlet store, factory outlet or factory shop is a brick and mortar or online store in which manufacturers sell their stock directly to the public. Traditionally, a factory outlet was a store attached to a factory or warehouse, sometimes allowin ...

Anthem, Arizona Anthem is a master-planned community partially located within Phoenix and partially located within a census-designated place (CDP), New River. The community is entirely located in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, within the Phoeni ...

, approximately north of downtown

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

. The mall's tree is the tallest Christmas tree in the state of

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

every year, and is often listed as the tallest Christmas tree in the United States.

Background

The mall has been displaying a tall tree since 2002. At some point during the 2000s, the tree began setting the record for Arizona's tallest fresh-cut Christmas tree, with heights exceeding . In 2010, a

white pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been furthe ...

was installed, giving the Anthem tree its first title of tallest fresh-cut Christmas tree in the United States. The marketing director at the mall said in 2012 that the tree draws customers from around the state as well as brings national attention.

Origin and installation

The tree is harvested annually near McCloud, in the

Shasta–Trinity National Forest The Shasta–Trinity National Forests are federally designated forests in northern California, United States. Combined, they are the largest National Forest in California and are managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The 2,210,485 acre (894,552 ...

in northern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, from a family-run

tree farm In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are us ...

. These pine trees do not naturally have live branches on the bottom portion due to the lack of sunlight reaching the ground, therefore the tree does not have the triangular shape of a traditional Christmas tree. The bottom portion of the trunk is shaped with the addition of small trees of the same species, which are used to make artificial branches. These "branches" are attached to the trunk by being

grafted Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...

into cut notches, filling in the lower part of the tree and creating a more pleasing aesthetic look. Up to 1,000 live branches are used, ranging from in length, to give the tree its final shape. In 2018, 25

sapling In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are us ...

s were planted to replenish the area from which the tree was harvested. About fifty

pine cone A conifer cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is a seed-bearing organ on gymnosperm plants. It is usually woody, ovoid to globular, including scales and bracts arranged around a central axis, especially in conifers ...

s from the 2014 tree were used to replant other trees. In some years, there is a "twin" of similar size at the mall's "sister" property,

Citadel Outlets The Citadel Outlets are an outlet mall in the City of Commerce, California along the Santa Ana Freeway southeast of Downtown Los Angeles, which features the Exotic Revival architecture of a tire factory, whose partial remnants the complex occ ...

in Los Angeles, California. A trucking company that specializes in heavy or

oversize load In road transport, an oversize load (or overweight load) is a load that exceeds the standard or ordinary legal size and/or weight limits for a truck to convey on a specified portion of road, highway, or other transport infrastructure, such as a ...

s then hauls the tree approximately over four days on an extended length

semi-trailer A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. In the United States, the term is also used to refer to the combination of a truck and a semi-trailer; a tractor-trailer. A large proportion of a semi-trailer's weight is supported by a trac ...

. The tree travels south through Shasta,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

before heading into the desert and across the Arizona border on an open flatbed trailer with a banner that reads "Follow me to Outlets at Anthem Largest Tree in Arizona". Upon arriving in Anthem, the tree is placed in a well filled with water that keeps the tree from drying out until January. It is also sprayed with over of

fire retardant A fire retardant is a substance that is used to slow down or stop the spread of fire or reduce its intensity. This is commonly accomplished by chemical reactions that reduce the flammability of fuels or delay their combustion. Fire retardants ...

Lighting ceremony

A crew of ten to twelve people working eight-hour days for several weeks decorate the tree with 5,000 ornaments and bows, and 80 strands of

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...

Christmas lights Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season including Advent and ...

that cumulatively measure in length. The ornaments measure and the tree is topped with a ,

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...

star. The copper star represents Arizona's copper heritage, as the state has mined more copper than any other state since 1907 and was nicknamed "The Copper State" at statehood in 1912. The installation and decoration begins in late October and a tree-lighting ceremony is held in mid-November. The ceremony includes live music and "holiday treats" at the "family fun night", the highlight of which is the illumination of the tree for the first time. The live entertainment in 2018 included performances by

AJ Mitchell Aaron Fredrick "AJ" Mitchell Jr. (born May 17, 2001), is an American singer-songwriter and musician who is currently signed to Insanity Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music. He gained a following in 2017 after posting clips of himself singing and ...

and the

All-American Boys Chorus The All-American Boys Chorus started as a small church choir in Orange County, California in 1970 and has grown into a 501(c)(3) non-profit, internationally-touring, non-denominational chorus that fosters creativity and leadership development in ov ...

from Los Angeles.

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

singer

Maggie Rose Maggie Rose Durante (born May 19, 1988) is an American soul and country music singer. In 2009, Durante signed to Universal Republic as Margaret Durante and released a cover of Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody". A year later, she left Universal Repub ...

performed in 2015. The 2019 display includes an interactive light show in which lights on the tree and on the roofline of surrounding buildings are synchronized to music. The nine-minute light show is repeated hourly each night through

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipati ...

Tallest tree

The tallest tree in the country in the 1970s and 1980s was at the ''

National Enquirer The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years. The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in tab ...

'' offices in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intraco ...

, and reached almost in 1979 when the ''

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' listed it as the "World's Largest Decorated Christmas Tree". The ''Enquirer'' stopped displaying tall trees after owner

Generoso Pope Generoso Pope (April 1, 1891 – April 28, 1950) was an Italian-American businessman and the owner of a chain of Italian-language newspapers in major American cities. Family Generoso was born with the name Generoso Antonio Pompilio Carlo Papa. ...

died in 1988. The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, a

Norway spruce ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very clo ...

, varies yearly from or more. It has likely been the tallest tree in the nation at times since 1988. From 2010 to 2016, the Anthem tree has been and is often listed as the tallest tree in the United States, including in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. In 2015, ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...

'' ran a Christmas graphic showing the Anthem tree as the nation's tallest at , with the Rockefeller Center tree at . In 2017, 2018, and 2019, the tree was reported as and called Arizona's tallest.

Statistics

Notes

References

{{coords, 33.8746, -112.149, display=title Buildings and structures in Phoenix, Arizona Christmas in the United States Individual Christmas trees Tourist attractions in Phoenix, Arizona