On Wednesday a host of celebrities were in New York City for the annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. The star of the show, however, was a 74-foot-tall Norway spruce that hails from Passaic County. The tree was donated by Arnold Raquet of Wayne. When he and his wife Gloria moved into their home in 1963, the tree was just 8 feet tall. Gloria, who has since passed away, treated the tree with plenty of tender loving care and it became the giant it is today. Weighing nine tons and boasting a 42-foot limb span, the tree was cut down in early November and transported to the city on a 115-foot-long trailer. This tree marks Rockefeller Center’s 73rd. The first Rockefeller Center tree was put up in 1931 by workers helping to build the complex, and the first formal tree-lighting ceremony took place in 1933. Last year’s tree, a 71-foot-tall Norway spruce, came from Suffern, N.Y.