The annual lighting of the Washington Square Park Christmas tree will take place on Wednesday at 6 p.m., as the Christmas season swings into full effect

The 45-foot-tall Christmas tree will be located beneath the famous arch in the park.

We are one of the oldest neighborhood associations in America, and we have been doing this for many decades, said Richard Stewart, the secretary of the Washington Square Association, according to DNAinfo.com. Stewart also mentioned that ceremony will include a host of Christmas carolers and Santa Clause.

While the famous tree in Rockefeller Center has attracted locals and tourists for decades, Washington Square Park has its own history dating back to about 90 years ago. In 1924, construction workers first raised a Christmas tree in the park, seven years before a tree was propped up in Rockefeller Center, reported DNAinfo.

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