The group of eight women comprising three generations of one family took a Megabus from Buffalo, New York, to Manhattan to make it to Rockefeller Center for the lighting of one of the most recognizable Christmas trees in the country.

“We’re Christmas junkies,” said Jennifer Burke, standing with her mother, daughter and nieces wearing Santa Claus hats and Christmas tree lights to watch the 86th annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on Wednesday night.

The ceremony was a lavish affair, with live performances by Pentatonix, the Radio City Rockettes and Billy Porter. Pre-taped appearances by Diana Ross, Tony Bennett and John Legend were displayed on large screens atop the ice skating rink. Many more artists appeared live or in pre-taped segments.

“I love how festive it is,” said Krystle Caggiano, part of Burke’s family.

Thousands of people from all over the USA and across the world turned out on a very cold night to wait in line in tight security to get as close as possible to the 72-foot tall tree that hailed from Wallkill, New York.

“It’s a one-time thing,” said Amber Gonzalez, a student at Montclair State University.

Jacob Benson arrived with his 3-year-old daughter, bundled up in a pink parka that covered her entire body.

“I just wanted to take her to get into the Christmas spirit,” he said.

Rockefeller tree lighting: What you missed

It seemed cold in New York, but some out-of-town visitors said it was nothing compared to home.

“It’s not cold,” said Francine Roberts from London, Ontario, who made the trek with her daughter Samantha.

The pair were in New York City for the first time. They had gone to see the legendary Rockettes’ “Christmas Spectacular Show.”

Not used to the cold was Adriana Salas from Costa Rica. She and her friend Mario Guzman were visiting from Costa Rica.

The pair bought puffy jackets and Guzman comforted himself by thinking of scenes from “Home Alone” and “Elf.”

“We are just here for this,” said Salas as they settled into their spot in front of the screen to the left of the tree. They didn’t have a view of the actual tree. Salas’ sister suggested moving on to a warmer setting such as a bar to watch the tree lighting on TV, but Adriana was intent to stay.

Floridians left the warm weather for the cold holiday cheer as well. Lenny and Zanca and Donna Williford did not get as close as they wanted to. Despite getting to Rockefeller Center about four hours before the show was to begin, they were still out of reach of the tree.

“Thank God for this big screen,” Zanca said as they settled in for the night. They were in front of the screen televising the happenings.

Both from Vero Beach, they had missed the tree lighting the year before and were intent on returning.

“We made the plans last July,” Zanca said. “We said we were going to do it and we did it.”

Their sister-in-law Colleen LoSavio was excited as the tree came from near her hometown in Orange County, New York. The donors of the tree are Shirley Figueroa and Lissette Gutierrez.

“It’s exciting. It’s so real to see people here,” LoSavio said.

As the night progressed, the crowd got tighter. With temperatures around 38 to 42 degrees Fahrenheit, the body heat helped. The tree was lit at 9:33 p.m. Many told each other that it was lit but did not get to see it because of the angles of the buildings.

Yet Kellina Doerr was happy to catch a glimpse of the tree after waiting several hours to get to it.

“I see an edge,” she told her friend Michael Vallejo.

They made many friends in the crowd.

“The view from the window is better,” said Vallejo, speaking about the reflection of nearby windows.College students from Germany were fine with the views. They had taken the train in from suburbs of Manhattan to make it in in time.

“We watched it and got into the holiday spirit,” said Zoe Welzmueller.