The Macy's Christmas Tree In Atlanta Has Been Retired After 74 Years

This news comes on the heels of the city cancelling the New Year's Eve Peach Drop.

After 74 years, the Great Tree Lighting at Macy’s Lenox Square in Atlanta has come to an end. The store confirmed in a statement, reported by Channel 2 Action News, that the annual tradition is no more.

“Each year, we evaluate our event programming and how we can best serve the metro-Atlanta community. Recently we made the decision to retire our Great Tree Lighting at our Macy’s Lenox Square store," Macy’s said in a statement.

This news came just after after the city decided to cancel the New Year's Eve Peach Drop, according to Channel 2 Action News.

The annual tree lighting tradition actually started at Rich's department store in downtown Atlanta in 1948. When Rich's closed in 1991, the tree moved to Underground Atlanta, and after that it moved to Lenox Square in 2000.

Perhaps it's a sign that times have truly changed since the early years of department stores, when elaborate Christmas scenes filled display windows and crowds gathered for tree lightings on public squares. The Macy's flagship store in New York still sets up its iconic window display each year, and you can also see a window display at the Downtown-Metro Center Macy's in Washington, D.C.

Though the Macy's tree may be gone, fortunately, Atlanta isn't lacking in Christmas magic. We've got a list of the best places you can see Christmas lights in Atlanta, with millions of twinkling lights to be enjoyed in area gardens, parks, and farms.

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