ATLANTA -- It was briefly beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

A 75-foot Christmas tree snapped in half Sunday as workers were preparing it for Atlanta's traditional Thanksgiving Day lighting ceremony at Rich's-Macy's store.

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The Great Georgia Pine broke as crews were hoisting it above the store.

Atlanta-based Rich's began the lighting tradition more than 50 years ago at its downtown store. In 2000, the combined Rich's-Macy's moved the ceremony to its Lenox Mall location.

Store officials said they will bring in a backup tree and expect it to be ready in time for the Thanksgiving lighting. The event will be broadcast live Thursday, Nov. 25 on WSB-TV/Channel 2, beginning at 7 p.m.

Officials said a new tree in Lithia Springs has been tapped to serve as the replacement.

Last year, it took eight people working for 21 days to decorate a tree with 1,200 basketball-sized ornaments, 60 2-foot-6-inch-tall teddy bears and 50 flashing strobe lights.

More than eight miles of circuit wiring wound through the tree, which was topped with a 7-foot, six-point star.

This year's tree weighed nearly 15,000 pounds before it split into two pieces. Onlookers who gathered in the frigid weather to watch the event bristled after the accident.

"We just walked out here and the tree popped," witness Diane Smith said. "It was unbelievable."

Albert Hicks, who scooped up a piece of the fallen pine as a souvenir, said he has full faith that the event will proceed as planned.

"Santa is on board and Christmas shall go on," he said.

Workers were exonerated in the mishap. Some officials on scene speculated that the tree trunk was weak and broke under the pressure as it was being lifted.

The tree had grown in the Snellville yard of Harold and Martha Dudley for over 20 years before it was chosen to be this year's Great Tree, according to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Dudleys planted their tree as a seedling 25 years ago and decorated it each holiday season until it grew too big. Harold Dudley, 82, told the newspaper that he grew depressed after hearing about the tree mishap.

"A lump came in my stomach," he told the AJC.

Channel 2 Action News reporter Tom Jones contributed to this report.