Boston, MA, December 4, 2025. The Christmas tree that has just been installed is sparkling brightly near the Visitor Center, on the edge of Boston Common, the oldest public park in the United States. It is a beautiful 13.7-meter white spruce cut down on November 12 in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, during an official ceremony, and then transported to Boston. Since 1971, this Christmas tree tradition has symbolized the long-standing friendship between Nova Scotia and Boston, ever since a tragic accident occurred on December 6, 1917, at Halifax Harbor, during the First World War…

That day, a Norwegian ship chartered by Belgium and a French ship carrying explosives had collided. The accident caused a massive explosion and considerable damage in Halifax, where many houses were destroyed or damaged. The human consequences were disastrous, with nearly 2,000 people losing their lives and hundreds of others injured. In response to this unprecedented tragic event, provincial rescue teams intervened quickly, the same day. And the authorities in Boston spontaneously sent a relief train that very evening to assist the residents of Halifax. They then continued to help the population and coordinated a major city reconstruction project. It was in gratitude for this invaluable help that, a year later, the city of Halifax presented a Christmas tree to Boston. After a long interruption, the tradition of giving a tree to Boston was revived in 1971 and has continued to this day.

Beyond being a symbol of friendship between the two cities, this tradition is also an opportunity to showcase the most beautiful conifers of the Acadian Forest in Nova Scotia. The process of selecting trees from the three eligible native species (red or white spruce and balsam fir) is also very strict. But it is usually a white spruce that is chosen. As for the Acadian Forest, named as such by the settlers of Canada’s Maritime Provinces, it covers the unceded territories of the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet and is actually called the Wabanaki forest, a name that can mean “dawn land”. Such a name refers, in any case, to the long-standing relationship between Indigenous communities and their ecosystem. Thus, each year, before the tree is cut down, an elder or spiritual leader of the concerned community performs a smudging ceremony, consisting of a prayer accompanied by the burning of sacred plants. Therefore, on November 12, 2025, it was Holly Meuse, from the L’sitkuk First Nation in Bear River (Annapolis Valley), who conducted the smudging ceremony.

Finally, the Acadians also had the opportunity in the past to honor this Nova Scotian tradition when, in 2021, the community of L’Arche in Orangedale, Cape Breton, offered a Christmas tree to Boston. Indeed, it was with great pride that an Acadian from Torbé, a prominent member of L’Arche Cape Breton, represented his community during the Christmas tree festivities in Boston. By the way, what species was it? A white spruce, of course.

Header image: The white spruce chosen in Lunenburg County (photo Tree for Boston, Nova Scotia Government).

Jean-Marc Agator
Paris, France

Sources

Websites: Boston Discovery Guide (Boston Common Holiday Tree Lighting 2025); Nova Scotia Government (Tree for Boston; About the Tradition); Nova Scotia Archives (1917 Halifax Explosion); The Nashwaak Watershed Association (What is the Wabanaki Forest?); The Canadian Encyclopedia (Smudging).