A 45-foot Christmas tree is being shipped from Nova Scotia to Boston
The province continues a half-century tradition.
A family from Stewiac in Nova Scotia will send their tree to the States as part of the Tree for Boston tradition. The 13.7-meter (45-foot) tall white spruce has served as a Christmas decoration on Canadian Bette Gourley's property for several years, and now it's being donated to the American city.
Why?
“Sending a tree to Boston is a deeply rooted tradition in Nova Scotia,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables.
On December 6, 1917, two ships, one carrying more than 2,500 tons of TNT, pyroxylin and picric acid, collided in the strait near Halifax harbor. This most powerful explosion of the pre-nuclear era killed 1,963 people, left about 2,000 missing and injured about 9,000 others.
Bostonians provided substantial assistance in the rescue operation and in dealing with the aftermath of the explosion. Medical personnel from the city were dispatched to Halifax just hours after the incident. The province gives Boston a beautiful Christmas tree every year as a token of its gratitude.
Giving ceremony
The ceremony where the tree will be ceremoniously cut down will be held on Nov. 15 at 10:30 a.m. on the Gourley family's property. And on Nov. 19, the Christmas tree will be shipped. Boston will hold a Christmas tree lighting ceremony on November 30 at 7 PM.
"We planted this tree 40 years ago, and we decorated it every year for Christmas until it got too tall. We’re very pleased and honoured that it’s this year’s Tree for Boston, in thanks for their help after the Halifax Explosion," reported Bette Gourley.
This year, Nova Scotians will once again honor the victims of the tragic Halifax event. The explosion occurred 106 years ago. The first tree from Nova Scotia was presented to Boston by Joseph Slauenwhite from Lunenburg County 52 years ago, in 1971.
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