Amid a press of tourists, curious passers-by and TV crews from nearly a dozen media outlets, a somewhere tired-looking construction worker gazed up at a giant crane that has just put this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree more or less upright.
He wiped the sweat from his brow, and gave a status report on the tree, which is as yet unadorned with the 30,000 glittering lights and giant crystal star that (1)______________________. "It will be stood up and secured with 4 cables today. Monday we'll start decorating and putting the lights on, and get ready for the lighting, for the tree lighting."
"So it's too early (2)______________________, we are doing a Christmas thing? " Sooner rather than later is just fine with Steve, a native New Yorker who stood nearby looking up at the tree and grinning.
"I think it smart to put it up for a little bit early so that it's here in time and decorated and beautiful for the holidays. For me, it's just part of the Christmas holiday. (3)______________________in the middle of Rockefeller Center. So it's a beautiful thing when it's lit up and kids are seeing it for the first time. It's gorgeous. It's magical. It's a beautiful thing. It's part of New York's culture."
