Chicago lights Christmas tree

Chicago is officially celebrating the holiday season.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel hosted a downtown tree lighting ceremony Wednesday for the city’s Christmas tree.

The 55-foot Colorado spruce was from the Spangler family of Western Springs.

Crews chopped the Spangler’s 83-year-old tree down earlier this month. This is the second year the Spanglers entered the spruce in a contest to be Chicago’s Christmas tree. Last year, their tree lost in the final vote. This year, the tree beat finalists from Northlake and Glenview.

There are photos of the tree from the 1930s that show it just 5 feet tall.