Hundreds on hand as 37-foot Christmas tree goes up at Biltmore House

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A 37-foot Christmas tree is up in North Carolina at the Biltmore House.

Just 10 hours after the end of Halloween, workers maneuvered the big Fraser fir into the 70-foot tall banquet hall of the Asheville tourist attraction.

Hundreds of people were on hand as the horse-drawn carriage made its way to the entrance Wednesday.

Biltmore's Candlelight Christmas Evenings begin Friday and continues through Jan. 6.

It's no mean feat getting the tree in position. The tree is lifted from the carriage using more than a dozen long metal poles. It's then moved up the steps into the entrance hall and then makes a turn into the banquet hall.

The final step is raising the tree to a vertical position with ropes without damaging the chandelier, furniture or antique tapestries.

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Associated Press