The annual gift of an evergreen Christmas tree from Nova Scotia will arrive by police escort at Boston Common at approximately 11 a.m. on Tuesday, November 20. This year commemorates 101 years of friendship between Nova Scotia and the people of Boston after our city provided emergency assistance when Halifax, Nova Scotia’s capital, was devastated by a wartime explosion in 1917.
Boston’s official 2018 Christmas tree is a 46-foot white spruce tree donated by Ross McKellar and Teresa Simpson from Oxford, marking the first time Nova Scotia’s annual Christmas tree gift to Boston has come from Cumberland County. The tree will be celebrated at a public cutting ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 15, and later the tree will stop in Truro and Halifax, Nova Scotia. There will be a final public farewell at Halifax City Hall on November 17 before the tree begins its journey by truck to Boston. In addition, Nova Scotia is donating smaller trees to Rosie’s Place and the Pine Street Inn.
“Our Christmas tree lighting is more than a holiday event, it is a celebration of the lasting bond of friendship between our city and Nova Scotia,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “Thanks to Ross and Teresa for providing this gift that will be the centerpiece of our holiday lighting display on Boston Common, taking a place of honor as Boston’s official Christmas tree to be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.”
On November 20, the official 2018 Christmas tree will be escorted by the Boston Police Department beginning around 10 a.m. from Billerica via Route 3 South to Route 128 North to Interstate 93 South to Sullivan Square to Rutherford Avenue over the Charlestown bridge and will weave through downtown Boston on North Washington, New Chardon, Cambridge, Tremont, Boylston, and Charles Streets to enter Boston Common at the corner of Beacon and Charles Streets at approximately 11 a.m.
Boston Parks Commissioner Chris Cook, an official Nova Scotian town crier, Santa Claus, and local schoolchildren will greet the tree at its final destination near the Boston Visitors Center at 139 Tremont Street. The tree will be lit at approximately 7:55 p.m. on Thursday, November 29, as the City of Boston’s Official Tree Lighting is celebrated on Boston Common from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The 77th annual Tree Lighting on Boston Common is sponsored by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, title sponsor The Province of Nova Scotia, Jumbotron sponsor JetBlue, and presenting sponsors Exelon, the Coca-Cola Company, and Bank of America with additional support provided by WCVB-TV Channel 5, Magic 106.7 FM, and the Boston Globe. For further information, please call the Boston Parks and Recreation Department at (617) 635-4505 or visit us on Facebook.