Nova Scotia picks Christmas tree for Boston Common: "We will be forever grateful"

BOSTON - Nova Scotia is getting ready to send its annual Christmas present to Boston.

The government shared a photo of the 45-foot tree that will stand on Boston Common this holiday season. The white spruce was donated by a family who decorated it for Christmas for 40 years.

"We sincerely hope the people of Boston enjoy this tree as much as we have over the years," landowner Bette Gourley said in a statement.

Nova Scotia sends a tree to Boston every year as a "thank you" for the help the city provided following the 1917 Halifax explosion, which was the largest man-made explosion before Hiroshima. Boston sent medical personnel and supplies to the area just hours after the devastating blast from a munitions ship that killed nearly 2,000 people and injured thousands more.

"Sending a tree to Boston is a deeply rooted tradition in Nova Scotia," said Tory Rushton, minister of Natural Resources and Renewables. "We will be forever grateful for the aid Boston provided after the Halifax Explosion. And what better time of year to show that gratitude than around the holidays."

"It's a big honor"

CBS News interviewed the Gourley family in 2021, when the tree was "still a few feet short" of what it needed to be before it was tall enough to be considered for Boston.

 "It's something we've been waiting for," Chester Gourley said. "And it's a big honor."  

The "Tree for Boston" will depart Halifax on November 19. The city will hold a tree-lighting ceremony at Boston Common on November 30.

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