Mazzola Bakery Christmas Tree Watch: It's Done!

Well, that didn't take long!

Just yesterday I started staking out Mazzola's Bakery at Henry and Union Streets in Carroll Gardens, watching for them to hoist up their annual floating Christmas tree.

Today, around 3 PM, two old guys shouting in Italian ("Gira!" "Tirare!") and two young guys answering in Spanish, started on the job. Ropes were tied to street lamps and small, earth-bound trees. Cords came whipping out of windows, furnishing electricity. Men with ropes on the roof took orders from men with ropes on the ground. Ladders went up. Crowds gathered. There's a big rainbow star on the top of the tree, a big red ribbon on the bottom. By 3:30 PM, it was done.

And the holiday season officially begins in South Brooklyn.