BOSTON — A symbol of enduring gratitude, this year’s Christmas tree has arrived in the Boston Common, marking the 53rd annual donation of a tree from Nova Scotia.
The tree, a 45-foot white spruce, was driven down from the rural community of Mattie Settlement in Antigonish County last Sunday and arrived in the Common on Tuesday morning. It will be lit on Dec. 5, and stand in the park throughout the holiday season.
The donation is a commemoration of 106 years of gratitude between the people of Nova Scotia and Boston, Park Ranger Walter Evans said at a small ceremony Tuesday in the rain on the Common.
The story dates back to 1917, when the city of Boston provided emergency aid to Halifax, Nova Scotia, after a devastating munitions explosion in the harbor, which claimed the lives of roughly 1,900 people and destroyed much of the city.
“Every building within a two-square-mile radius was utterly destroyed by the fire and blast — the largest man-made explosion of the pre-Atomic Age. It shattered windows 50 miles away, and for a brief instant, the bottom of the harbor could be seen,” Evans explained of the Halifax disaster.
A transmission made its way successfully to Boston, and Gov. Samuel McCall and Boston Mayor James Curley had an emergency meeting of the Massachusetts Committee on Public Safety at 2:30 that afternoon.
By 10 p.m., Evans said, a train carrying medical personnel, supplies, and emergency equipment was on its way to Halifax while a blizzard dropped 16 inches of snow on the Canadian city overnight.
“Subsequent trains arrived with 100 doctors, 300 nurses, Red Cross personnel, and over $1 million of supplies. All of this without being asked. The people of Halifax were beyond grateful to the city of Boston and in 1918 sent a Christmas tree as a token of appreciation to the citizens of Boston for the assistance during their worst hour,” Evans said.
In 1971, the Canadian province began the tradition of sending a tree every year to honor that fateful day.
This year’s tree was donated by Hugh and Liz Ryan, landowners in Antigonish County.
“We have watched this tree grow from a young sapling to its present height for the last 30 years. We are happy and proud to donate this tree to Boston as a heartfelt thank you for all the help received during a great hardship in Halifax,” the family said in a statement.