The Boston Christmas tree: How a post-tragedy gesture created a Canadian tradition
On December 6, 1917, a disaster unlike anything the world had seen struck Halifax, Nova Scotia.
On that day, the SS Imo collided with the Mont-Blanc in Halifax harbour. The collision caused a fire on the Mont-Blanc, loaded with TNT, picric acid, benzol, and guncotton.
For 20 minutes, the Mont-Blanc burned in Halifax harbour. Not realizing the danger, crowds of people watched the ship burn.
At 9:04 am, a 2.9-kiloton explosion tore through Halifax, destroying nearly every building in an 800-metre radius. In an instant, 1,700 people died, and 9,000 were injured. Where the Mont-Blanc once stood, a mushroom cloud rose 3.6 kilometres.
I covered this disaster on my podcast in 2021. You can listen to it here.
It was the most enormous explosion caused by humans before the first atomic bomb. The devastation in Halifax was immense, but the humanitarian response was even more remarkable.
The mushroom cloud of the Halifax explosion (Library and Archives Canada)
Trains filled with supplies started arriving as close as possible to Halifax since the rail lines were mangled. Ships at sea that saw the mushroom cloud and felt the blast wave turned and made their way to Halifax harbour to assist.
The next day, a blizzard hit Halifax to add another level to the disaster. That blizzard would not stop aid from coming, and Boston was one of the first places to step up to help.
Boston Governor Samuel McCall immediately sent a telegram to the mayor of Halifax stating,
āUnderstand your city is in danger from explosion and conflagration. Reports only fragmentary. We stand ready to go the limit in rendering every assistance you may be in need of. Wire me immediately.ā
Train loads of food, furniture, clothing, medical supplies, doctors and nurses came from Boston in a process that continued for days as the city rallied to help its Canadian neighbour.
It was something the residents of Halifax never forgot.
In 1918, to thank the people of Boston, the Boston Red Cross and Massachusetts Public Safety Committee, Halifax sent a Christmas tree. It was a small gift, but one that meant a lot to the people of Boston.
For half a century, that gift seemed to be a one-off thank you. Then, in 1971, the Lunenburg County Christmas Tree Producers Association revived the idea of sending a Christmas tree to Boston. Thus began an annual tradition of finding the best tree in Nova Scotia to send to the American city.
The reason for this was two-fold. First, it was to promote Christmas tree exports from Nova Scotia. Second, it was to acknowledge Boston’s aid after that terrible day in 1917.
The Government of Nova Scotia eventually took over the Christmas tree tradition. Under the government, the tree has become a way to promote trade and tourism between Canada and the US and serves as a goodwill gesture.
Choosing the tree is no simple matter.
Nova Scotia citizens nominate trees for selection. Having a tree selected from your property is a great honour in the province. The trees are typically balsam fir or red or white spruce. They also need to be 40 to 50 feet tall. Based on those heights, the trees are usually 25 to 30 years old by that point.
The tree must be healthy, with good colour and symmetry, and easily accessible on the property.
A Town Crier and Santa Claus welcome the Boston Christmas Tree on the Boston Common. Wikicommons (Briancua)
Once the tree is chosen, the cutting down is televised in a ceremony. The tree then becomes the central part of the Nova Scotia Christmas Parade. After the festivities are over in Nova Scotia, the tree is put on the back of a truck and travels down to Boston, a distance of 1,000 kilometres.
When the tree arrives in Boston, it is given 24 hours to settle into its new home before the lights are put on. Lights are strung from top to bottom rather than around the tree.
On the lighting day, typically November 30 or December 1, the mayor of Boston and the premier of Nova Scotia light Boston’s official Christmas tree together.
All of this doesn’t come without a price tag. From beginning to end, it costs $242,000 to harvest the tree, pay workers, and pay ABC and CTV for broadcast coverage of the tree.
What about after the Christmas season?
Once the presents are opened, and Santa is back at the North Pole, the Christmas tree is put into a wood chipper and composted. Added into the free compost in the city, pieces of the tree eventually find their way into the gardens of Boston residents.
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