Boston Christmas Tree

{{Short description|Official Christmas tree of Boston, Massachusetts}} {{Infobox recurring event | name =  | native_name = | native_name_lang = | logo = | logo_caption = | image = File:2010 Boston Halifax Christmas tree on Boston Common USA 5273771973.jpg | caption = | status = Active | genre =  | date =  | begins = | ends = | frequency = Annual | venue = | location = Nova Scotia and Boston Common | coordinates = {{coord|42|21|20.8322|N|71|3|48.4488|W|display=inline,title}} | country = United States and Canada | years_active = | first = {{start date and age|1941}} | founder_name = | last =  | prev = | next = | participants = Mayor of Boston, Premier of Nova Scotia, Santa Claus | attendance = 20,000 (lighting) | area = | budget = {{CA$|242000}} | activity = | patron = | organised =  | filing =  | people = | member = | sponsor = | website =  | footnotes = }}

The '''Boston Christmas Tree''' is the City of Boston, Massachusetts' official Christmas tree. A tree has been lit each year since 1941,<ref name=events/> and since 1971 it has been given to the people of Boston by the people of Nova Scotia in thanks for their assistance after the 1917 Halifax Explosion. The tree is lit in the Boston Common throughout the Christmas season.

==Halifax explosion== {{main|Halifax Explosion}} On December 6, 1917, at 9:04:35 am,<ref name=halifax/> the Halifax Explosion severely destroyed much of the city by the largest non-nuclear explosion of all time. Boston authorities learned of the disaster by telegraph, and quickly organized and dispatched a relief train around 10 pm to assist survivors. A blizzard delayed the train, which finally arrived in the early morning of December 8 and immediately began distributing food, water, and medical supplies. Numerous personnel on the train were able to relieve the Nova Scotia medical staff, most of whom had worked without rest since the explosion occurred. Nova Scotian children study the explosion in school and know that "Boston was one of the first responders, and really a lifesaver."<ref name="globe"/><ref name="thanks"/> {{clear}}

==Donation== {| class="wikitable" style="float: right; margin-left:1em" |- ! Year !! Tree location !! Donor |- |2025 || Lunenburg || Claire and Ronald Feener{{r|Platoff}} |- |2024 || Mattie Settlement, Antigonish County || Hugh and Liz Ryan{{r|ryan}} |- |2023 || Stewiacke || Bette Gourley{{r|Gourley}}{{efn|The Gourley family waited 10 years for their tree to be tall enough to be selected and sent to Boston, saying it was "a big honor."{{r|emily}}}} |- | 2022 ||Christmas Island || Townsend family<ref name=22tree/>{{efn|Roddy Townsend, the property owner, and his children Angela, Carmen and Andrew.<ref name=22tree/>}} |- | 2021 || Orangedale, Inverness County || L'Arche, Cape Breton<ref name=larche/> |- | 2020 || Grande Anse, Richmond County || Heather and Tony Sampson<ref name=sampson/> |- | 2019 || Black Point, Pictou County || Desmond Waithe and Corina Saunders<ref name=pictou/> |- | 2018 || Oxford, Cumberland County || Ross McKellar and Teresa Simpson <ref name=oxford/> |- | 2017 || Blue's Mills, Inverness County || Bob and Marion Campbell<ref name=cambell/> |- | 2016 || Ainslie Glen, Cape Breton Island || Crown land<ref name=crown/> |- | 2015 || Pictou County || Andrea and William MacEachern<ref name=arrives/><ref name=cost/> |- | 2014 || Purlbrook, Antigonish County || John and Ethel Ann MacPherson<ref name=Antigonish/> |- | 2013 || Mill Cove || Mary Lou Milligan<ref name=love/> |- | 2011 || Central Argyle || Ken and Donna Spinney<ref name=bean/> |- | 2010 || North Alton || Gary and Roseann Misner<ref name=thanks/> |- | 2008 || Clementsvale, Annapolis County || Craig and Marina Cook<ref name=virginia/> |- | 2007 || Annapolis Valley || Christopher and Lisa Hamilton<ref name=benefits/> |- | 2006 || New Ross || Alan and Antoinette Broome<ref name=globe/> |- | 1972 || Lunenburg County || Joseph Slauenwhite<ref name=globe/> |- | 1971 || Lunenburg County || Joseph Slauenwhite<ref name=globe/> |}

Nova Scotia donated a large Christmas tree to the city of Boston in thanks and remembrance for the help Boston Red Cross and the Massachusetts Public Safety Committee provided immediately after the Halifax Explosion of 1917.<ref name=virginia/> Another tree was sent in 1971, and every year since.<ref name="virginia"/><ref name="twice"/><ref name=hefty/>

The annual gift was started by the Lunenburg County Christmas Tree Producers Association to promote Christmas tree exports as well as acknowledge the Boston support after the explosion. The gift was taken over by the Nova Scotia Government in 1976 to continue the goodwill gesture and to promote trade and tourism.<ref name="expert"/>

In 2017, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the explosion, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Halifax Mayor Michael Savage, and Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil unveiled a plaque on the Boston Common near the site of the tree.<ref name=honor/> The tree that year was donated in honor of first responders in the two cities.<ref name=honor/>

Joseph Slauenwhite donated the first two trees.<ref name="globe"/> The tree typically comes from the southern half of the province, but in 2014 the tree came from Antigonish County, in the north<ref name="Antigonish"/> and in 2016 the first tree ever from Cape Breton Island was selected.<ref name=crown/> In 2018, the first tree from Cumberland County was donated.<ref name=oxford/>

The province also donates smaller trees to Rosie's Place and the Pine Street Inn, homeless shelters in Boston.<ref name="arrival"/>

==Tree selection== The Christmas Tree Extension Specialist whose responsibility it is to select a tree is "always looking" for trees, and keeps a list of trees for years.<ref name=thanks/><ref name=twice/><ref name=yard/> They also receive between 8-10 families a year who volunteer their own tree.{{r|Platoff}} The scouting for the current year's tree begins in June and July.<ref name=cost/>

Most donors are "honored to give up their trees... [and] most will gladly watch their towering trees fall" since everyone knows the reason it is being sent to Boston.<ref name=globe/> Owners often would not normally "have dreamed of cutting down the big spruce Grandpa planted" but will "gladly part with it" when told it is going to Boston.<ref name=twice/>

They "consider it a great honor" and say, 'Oh, my God, how can I refuse?"'<ref name=twice/> It is sometimes donated in memory of a family member who died in the explosion.<ref name=virginia/> The process can be political as families vie to have their tree chosen.<ref name=globe/> One Nova Scotian said it would be "a sin" not to send a tree.{{r|Platoff}}

===Specifications=== Knowing its symbolic importance to both jurisdictions, the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources has specific guidelines for selecting the tree. It must be an attractive balsam fir, white spruce or red spruce, {{convert|12|to|16|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} tall, healthy with good color, medium to heavy density, uniform and symmetrical and easy to access.<ref name=Dedham/> The trees do not usually come from tree farms, but from open land where they can grow tall and full.<ref name=globe/><ref name=twice/>

===Christmas Tree Specialist=== The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources Christmas Tree Specialist has the responsibility for selecting the tree each year. For the specialist the "tree can be elusive, the demands excessive, and the job requires remembering the locations of the best specimens in the province and persuading the people who own them to give them up for a pittance."<ref name=globe/> The first Specialist was Tom Ernst, and he was followed in the 1990s by Peter Romkey.<ref name=globe/> {{As of|2017}}, the Christmas Tree Extension Specialist responsible for selecting the Boston tree is Ross H. Pentz,<ref name=yard/> a position he has held since 2001.<ref name=benefits/>

==Tree cutting and ceremony== Before the tree is cut, each branch is individually tied to the trunk.<ref name=benefits/> It takes two men a day and a half to prepare the tree to be cut down.<ref name=benefits/> A crane holds the tree at the top while it is cut at the base by a chainsaw.<ref name=benefits/>

The tree cutting ceremony has been described as "quite the local spectacle for Nova Scotians,"<ref name=parade/> and features representatives from the province, the United States Consulate in Halifax, the Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia, hundreds of local school children, a town crier, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Nova Scotia conservation officers, an Antigonish bagpiper, the Nova Scotia Mass Choir, and Santa Claus.<ref name=cost/><ref name=Antigonish/>{{efn|The Tree's official twitter feed has a video of the tree being cut in 2017.<ref name=video/>}}

In 2014, students and staff in the environmental technologies program at the Nova Scotia Community College Strait Area Campus cut down that year's tree.<ref name=Antigonish/> {{Asof|2025}}, Waddie Long, a Nova Scotia Community College instructor, had cut down the tree for most of the previous decade.{{r|Platoff}} Also in 2025, Michelle Wu became the first mayor of Boston to attend the tree cutting ceremony, and helped Long wield the chainsaw.{{r|Platoff}}

==Transporting the tree== [[File:School children welcome the Boston Christmas Tree.jpg|thumb|School children from the Mather Elementary School wave to the tree from Tremont Street on the Boston Common]] The tree travels over {{convert|750|mile|km|-2}} to Boston, with a stop at the Grand Parade in Halifax for a public send-off ceremony featuring a live musical performance by The Stanfields.<ref name=Antigonish/> Attendees are also invited to sign a thank you book for Boston.<ref name="Antigonish"/> The tree travels by truck across Nova Scotia, then cruises on a ferry across the Bay of Fundy, continuing by truck through Maine and New Hampshire to Boston.<ref name="love"/> People stand on the sides of roads and on highway overpasses to get a glimpse of the tree and to take pictures.<ref name=oxford/>

In 2013, the tree was led out of Halifax by a group of runners in honor of victims of the Boston Marathon bombing.<ref name="love"/> Special permits are required to transport the tree through Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Maine.<ref name=cost/>

==Tree arrival and lighting== thumb|A Town Crier and Santa Claus welcome the Boston Christmas Tree on the Boston Common. The tree arrives in Boston under police escort.<ref name=arrival/> In the same way that schoolchildren see the tree off in Nova Scotia, schoolchildren from Boston are on hand to welcome it to the Boston Common.<ref name="arrival"/>

The tree lighting takes place on the Common in late November or early December. The event attracts about 20,000 people<ref name=Antigonish/> and 200,000 watch the broadcast on WCVB.<ref name=cost/> The 1998 tree required more than 3,200 man hours to decorate, as well as {{convert|4+1/2|mile|km|0}} of wire and 17,000 multi-colored lights.<ref name=pru/> The 2006 tree was covered in 8,000 bulbs.<ref name="zinck"/>

The tree donated by Nova Scotia was placed at the Prudential Center from 1971<ref name="pru"/> until 2002, when it was moved to the Boston Common because of planned development.<ref name="tis"/>

==Significance to Nova Scotia== The tree is so important to the people of Nova Scotia that "people have cried over it, argued about it, even penned song lyrics in its honour."<ref name="globe"/> Lands and Forestry Minister Iain Rankin called it "one of our proudest traditions."<ref name=oxford/> A spokesman for the Department of Lands and Forestry said "It never ceases to amaze me how excited people get about it every year. The whole province gets excited about the tree. It’s a big deal."

==Expense== While the donation of the Christmas Tree is first and foremost a gift, it is also a major marketing effort for Nova Scotia.<ref name=cost/><ref name=hefty/> In 2015, the total cost of the tree, transportation, ceremonies, and parties was {{CA$|242,000}}<ref name=cost/><ref name=hefty/>({{US$|179000}}<ref name=learn/>).

The scouting of the tree costs {{CA$|1,900}}, and the cutting ceremony was {{CA$|2500}}.<ref name=cost/> For all of their coverage and efforts, CTV Atlantic received {{CA$|25000}}.<ref name=cost/> Promotion on Facebook and Instagram cost an additional {{CA$|900}}.<ref name=cost/> The sendoff in Halifax cost {{CA$|10000}} and transporting the tree cost {{CA$|4000}}.<ref name=cost/> Merchandise was given away at events in both Massachusetts and Nova Scotia, including tuques at a cost of {{CA$|11,000}}, flags at {{CA$|1000}} and lanyards at {{CA$|3000}}.<ref name=cost/>

Provincial officials, including the premier and his staff, were flown to Boston and put up in local hotels at an expense of {{CA$|12,000}}.<ref name=cost/><ref name=learn/> The MacEachern family also received {{CA$|1000}} in travel expenses.<ref name=cost/> WCVB, the Boston ABC affiliate received {{US$|55000}} ({{CA$|75000}}) to broadcast a live one-hour tree lighting special.<ref name=cost/><ref name=hefty/><ref name=learn/> A television commercial promoting Nova Scotia would cost about four times as much.<ref name=hefty/> The ceremony itself cost {{US$|30000}} ({{CA$|41000}}), which was paid by Nova Scotia to the City of Boston.<ref name=cost/><ref name=hefty/> This is less than half of the {{US$|85000}} the ceremony costs.<ref name=learn/>

A reception at the Omni Parker House cost {{CA$|9000}}.<ref name=cost/><ref name=learn/> It was attended by the official delegation, as well as Nova Scotian businessmen who traveled at their own expense, and Nova Scotians living in the Boston area.<ref name=cost/>

Given the media coverage the province gets in return, and “When you look at the entire scope of the thing, it’s a pretty good value for the province of Nova Scotia,” according to Ed McHugh, who teaches business and marketing at Nova Scotia Community College.<ref name=learn/>

==Media coverage== Since 1996, Boston TV Stations such as WBZ-TV and WCVB-TV have aired the Nova Scotia Tree for Boston via cable in Atlantic Canada.

The "regional media coverage [of the tree cutting ceremony is] huge."<ref name=thanks/> Television personalities from CTV Atlantic host the tree cutting ceremony and the send off in Halifax.<ref name=cost/> In addition, their contract commits them to doing weather items and "tree related elements" live from Boston during the evening news on both the day of the lighting and the day after.<ref name=cost/> In 2015, CTV produced and aired a 30-second commercial over a period of 10 days.<ref name=cost/> They also provided digital promotion and news promotions.<ref name=cost/> CTV estimates that this contribution represents a {{CA$|30,000}} benefit to the province.<ref name=cost/>

The tree is also promoted on Facebook and Instagram.<ref name=cost/>

==See also== {{Commons category}} *Boston–Halifax relations *List of individual trees

==Notes== {{Notelist}}

==References== <references> <ref name=Platoff>{{cite news | url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/12/metro/michelle-wu-christmas-tree-nova-scotia/ | title = In Nova Scotia, Mayor Michelle Wu receives the ‘Tree for Boston,’ and a warm Canadian embrace | first = Emma | last = Platoff | date = November 12, 2025 | accessdate = November 12, 2025 | publisher = The Boston Globe }}</ref>

<ref name=ryan>{{cite news | url = https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2024/11/06/christmas-tree-boston-antigonish-county | title = Christmas Tree for Boston From Antigonish County | date = 6 November 2024 | accessdate = 8 November 2024 | publisher = Government of Nova Scotia }}</ref>

<ref name=emily>{{cite news | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/boston-commons-christmas-tree-nova-scotia/ |title = Tradition behind Boston Common's Christmas tree has endured decades and a pandemic: "This is a symbol of what we can do" | first = emily | last = D'Alessandro | date = December 25, 2021 | accessdate = November 7, 2023 | publisher = CBS News }}</ref>

<ref name=Gourley>{{cite news | url = https://www.wcvb.com/article/christmas-tree-boston-nova-scotia-selected-2023/45735854 | title = Christmas tree, annual gift for Boston from Nova Scotia, selected | publisher = WCVB | date = November 3, 2023 | accessdate = November 4, 2023 }}</ref>

<ref name=22tree>{{Cite news | url = https://www.wcvb.com/article/2022-boston-common-tree-for-boston-christmas-tree-selected-in-nova-scotia/41841064# | title = 2022 Boston Common 'Tree for Boston' Christmas tree selected in Nova Scotia | publisher = WCVB | date = November 2, 2022 | accessdate = November 4, 2022 }}</ref>

<ref name=larche>{{cite news | url = https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/50-years-giving-back-nova-scotia-donates-bostons-2021-christmas-tree/N4TULHZX5FAX3DHAIPNO2IJ4RA/ | title = 50 years of giving back! Nova Scotia donates Boston's 2021 Christmas tree | date = October 25, 2021 | accessdate = October 25, 2021 | publisher = WFXT }}</ref>

<ref name=sampson>{{Cite news | url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/cape-breton-couple-donate-tree-for-boston-to-say-thanks-1.5792858#:~:text=Nova%20Scotia%20is%20once%20again,Tony%20Sampson%20of%20Cape%20Breton. | title = Cape Breton couple donate Tree for Boston to say thanks | date = November 6, 2020 | accessdate = November 12, 2020 | publisher = Canadian Broadcasting Corporation }}</ref>

<ref name="Antigonish">{{cite press release | url = https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20141106002 | title = 2014 Boston Tree Location A First | publisher = Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources | date = November 6, 2014 | accessdate = January 1, 2015 }}</ref>

<ref name="arrival">{{cite web | url = http://www.bostoncentral.com/events/seasonalfun/p3406.php | title = Boston Christmas Tree Arrival | publisher = Boston Central | accessdate = January 1, 2015 }}</ref>

<ref name= arrives>{{cite news | url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/11/20/boston-christmas-tree-arrives/Qjyb9PbEGqxd4LKsKgN9RJ/story.html | title = Boston's Christmas tree arrives | first = Felicia | last = Gans | work = The Boston Globe | date = November 20, 2015 | accessdate = November 20, 2015 }}</ref>

<ref name="bean">{{cite news | url = http://blog.dailyfreepress.com/2011/12/01/multimedia-christmas-in-bean-town/ | title = Multimedia: Christmas in Bean Town | first = Lauren | last = Dezenski | date = December 1, 2011 | accessdate = January 1, 2015 | publisher = Boston University's Daily Free Press | archive-date = January 2, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150102011148/http://blog.dailyfreepress.com/2011/12/01/multimedia-christmas-in-bean-town/ | url-status = dead }}</ref>

<ref name="benefits">{{cite news | url = http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=a72b64ab-60d1-49c4-b4a5-d47d82f3934a | title = Boston benefits from N.S. Christmas tree tradition | date = November 18, 2007 | accessdate = January 1, 2015 | publisher = CanWest News Service | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20150301151128/http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=a72b64ab-60d1-49c4-b4a5-d47d82f3934a | archivedate = March 1, 2015 }}</ref>

<ref name=cambell>{{cite news | url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/10/30/the-christmas-tree-gifted-nova-scotia-boston-has-been-selected/cyhS5mIuEuCZeruZ7qtvWK/story.html | title = The Christmas tree gifted by Nova Scotia to Boston has been selected | first= Steve | last = Annear | date = October 31, 2017 | accessdate = October 31, 2017 | publisher = The Boston Globe }}</ref>

<ref name=cost>{{cite news | url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/christmas-tree-for-boston-cost-breakdown-1.3849884?s_campaign=fastforward:newsletter | title = Here's the breakdown of the Christmas tree for Boston costs | first = Jack | last = Julian | publisher = CBC News | date = November 15, 2016 | accessdate = November 17, 2016 }}</ref>

<ref name="crown">{{cite press release | url = https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20161028003 | title = Boston Christmas Tree a Cape Breton First | publisher = Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources | date = October 28, 2016 | accessdate = October 28, 2016 }}</ref>

<ref name="Dedham">{{cite news | first =Hana Janjigian | last = Heald | title = Nova Scotia's Christmas Tree gift to Boston has a Dedham connection | publisher = The Dedham Times | date = December 15, 2006 | volume = 14 | issue =51 | page=3 }}</ref>

<ref name="events">{{cite news | url = http://bostinno.streetwise.co/all-series/holiday-2012-events-in-boston-boston-holiday-2012-event-calendar/ | title = 19 Holiday Events in Boston to Add to Your Calendar Right Now | date = November 7, 2012 | accessdate = January 1, 2015 | first = Juliette | last = San Fillipo | publisher = BostonInno | quote = 71st Annual Boston Common Tree Lighting Ceremony - Thursday, Nov. 29 }}</ref>

<ref name="expert">{{cite news | first = Mark | last = Campbell | title = Tree Expert Picks Province's Annual Gift to Boston | publisher = Nova Scotia Magazine | date = November 1993 | page = 12 }}</ref>

<ref name="globe">{{cite news | first = Keith | last = O'Brien | title = Oh! Christmas tree | publisher = The Boston Globe | date = November 26, 2006 | access-date = January 1, 2015 | url = http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/26/oh_christmas_tree/ }}</ref>

<ref name=halifax>{{cite web | url = http://www.halifaxexplosion.org/intro.html | title = The Halifax Explosion | accessdate = October 31, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161209032246/http://www.halifaxexplosion.org/intro.html | archive-date = December 9, 2016 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

<ref name=hefty>{{cite news | url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/11/16/boston-christmas-tree-comes-with-hefty-price-tag-for-nova-scotia/7gcgczP6EBsjiOMZhWfd9J/story.html | title = Boston's Christmas tree comes with a hefty price tag — for Nova Scotia | first = Jeremy C. | last = Fox | date = November 16, 2016 | publisher = Boston Globe | accessdate = November 18, 2016 }}</ref>

<ref name=honor>{{cite news | url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/11/30/city-officials-unveil-monument-honor-bond-between-boston-and-nova-scotia/GZRq6yc5DgGeGOXFxYJYOI/story.html | title = Boston, Halifax celebrate 100 years of friendship at tree lighting ceremony | first1 = Jake | last1 = Johnson | first2 = Alyssa | last2 = Meyers | publisher = The Boston Globe | date = November 30, 2017 | accessdate = December 1, 2017 | archive-date = November 30, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171130233956/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/11/30/city-officials-unveil-monument-honor-bond-between-boston-and-nova-scotia/GZRq6yc5DgGeGOXFxYJYOI/story.html | url-status = dead }}</ref>

<ref name=learn>{{cite news | url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/11/28/some-nova-scotia-residents-want-boston-know-christmas-tree-gift-not-free/fDthrDg0oAC1q6g4R919EJ/story.html | title = Nova Scotians learn the Christmas tree for Boston is far from free | first = Brian | last = MacQuarrie | date = November 28, 2016 | accessdate = November 28, 2016 | publisher = The Boston Globe }}</ref>

<ref name="love">{{cite news | url = https://www.boston.com/uncategorized/noprimarytagmatch/2013/11/13/from-nova-scotia-with-love-bostons-christmas-tree-begins-its-odyssey-to-the-common/ | title = From Nova Scotia with love: Boston's Christmas tree begins its odyssey to the Common | date = November 13, 2013 | access-date = January 1, 2015 | first = Melissa | last = Hanson }}</ref>

<ref name=oxford>{{cite news | url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/11/06/nova-scotia-picks-out-christmas-tree-for-boston-thank-city-for-answering-call-for-help/n9Iex7Nqc3rEmEVM5QORON/story.html | title = Nova Scotia picks out Christmas tree for Boston | first = Emily | last = Sweeney | date = November 6, 2018 | accessdate = November 6, 2018 | newspaper = The Boston Globe }}</ref>

<ref name="parade">{{cite news | url = http://www.boston.com/news/odd/2014/11/17/why-nova-scotia-excited-about-this-christmas-tree/4jyosaVL4JcfRCnr6hAPQM/story.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141118031619/http://www.boston.com/news/odd/2014/11/17/why-nova-scotia-excited-about-this-christmas-tree/4jyosaVL4JcfRCnr6hAPQM/story.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = November 18, 2014 | title = O Canada: Nova Scotia Is Throwing a Parade for Our Christmas Tree | first = Shan | last = Wang | publisher = Boston.com Staff | date = November 17, 2014 | accessdate = January 1, 2015 }}</ref>

<ref name=pictou>{{cite news | url = https://www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/article/pictou-county-couple-donates-tree-for-annual-gift-to-boston/ | title = Pictou County couple donates tree for annual gift to Boston | first = Andrea | last = Jerrett| date = November 6, 2019 | access-date = November 10, 2019 | publisher = CTV News Atlantic }}</ref>

<ref name="pru">{{cite press release | url = http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bostons-prudential-christmas-tree-has-a-history-of-its-own-77626982.html | date = December 3, 1998 | accessdate = January 1, 2015 | title = Boston's Prudential Christmas Tree Has A History Of Its Own }}</ref>

<ref name="thanks">{{cite news | url = http://www.boston.com/travel/blog/2010/10/hub_holiday_tree.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150102015901/http://www.boston.com/travel/blog/2010/10/hub_holiday_tree.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = January 2, 2015 | title = Hub holiday tree a continued thanks from Nova Scotia | first = Paul | last = Kandarian | date = October 18, 2010 | accessdate = January 1, 2015| publisher = Boston.com }}</ref>

<ref name="tis">{{cite news | title = 'Tis Not: No Room At the Pru | publisher = The Boston Globe | last = Leccese | first = Mark | date = September 29, 2002 | page = 3 }}</ref>

<ref name="twice">{{cite news | url = http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/07/23/hes_checking_it_twice_hub/ | title = He's checking it twice, Hub | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150102015808/http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/07/23/hes_checking_it_twice_hub/ | date = July 23, 2008 | first = Yvonne | last = Abraham | publisher = The Boston Globe | archive-date = January 2, 2015| url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name=video>{{cite tweet |user=TreeforBoston |number=930832268486115329 |date=November 15, 2017 |title=Boston, I’m coming for you!}}</ref>

<ref name="virginia">{{cite web | title = The Halifax Christmas Tree for Boston | url = http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/halifax/christmas/ | accessdate = January 1, 2015 | publisher = University of Virginia Claude Moore Health Sciences Library | archive-date = January 2, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150102015812/http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/halifax/christmas/ | url-status = dead }}</ref>

<ref name="yard">{{cite news | url = http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/17/from_a_nova_scotia_yard_to_light_up_the_common/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150102021512/http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/17/from_a_nova_scotia_yard_to_light_up_the_common/ | title = From a Nova Scotia yard to light up the Common; City's Christmas tree is making 750-mile journey | first = Andrew | last = Ryan | date = November 17, 2006 | archive-date = January 2, 2015 | url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="zinck">{{cite news | url = http://www.southshorenow.ca/en/20061122/Feature/43756/Tree-of-thanks.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150102021422/http://www.southshorenow.ca/en/20061122/Feature/43756/Tree-of-thanks.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2 January 2015 | title = Tree of thanks | first = Angie | last = Zinck | date = 22 November 2006 | accessdate = January 1, 2015 | publisher = LightHouseNow }}</ref> </references>

==External links== *[https://twitter.com/treeforBoston The Boston Tree's Twitter page] *[http://facebook.com/TreeForBoston The Boston Tree's Facebook page]

Category:Individual Christmas trees Category:Culture of Boston Category:Landmarks in Boston Category:Christmas trees Category:Boston Common Category:Individual trees in Canada Category:Individual trees in Massachusetts Category:Canada–United States relations in popular culture Category:Holidays in Nova Scotia Category:Culture of Halifax, Nova Scotia Category:Halifax Explosion