The story of the lesser-known Nova Scotia Christmas tree gifted to the U.S.

Shelburne, Nova Scotia has been sending a Christmas tree south of the border for decades.

Nova Scotia’s Tree for Boston has arrived on site, but so has a second spruce given to the people of Gloucester, Mass.

The token of friendship comes from its sister community of Shelburne, N.S.

“Partially due to the fact that we’re quite related with the maritime fishing industry from many years past, of course,” says the town’s mayor, Stan Jacklin.

The decision was made to send a spruce back in 1998.

Town staff keep an eye out for an appropriate tree throughout the year, and residents will offer up ones from their properties.

“The Christmas tree that we sent this particular year comes from the Doane family in Lower Ohio,” Jacklin says.

Public Works supervisor Michael Deschamp cut this year’s offering.

In fact, he’s taken down close to 20 trees for Gloucester. The city sends a crew over to pick up the annual present.

“I think it’s wonderful. It’s good to see the guys when they come over, we all have a good laugh,” Deschamp says.

Despite tensions between Canada and the United States, politics isn’t discussed. Instead, Jacklin says it is all done in the spirit of Christmas.

“I believe that that particular connection to Gloucester will have nothing to do with the geopolitical problems that we’re having along with the U.S.,” he said.

And that’s how it should be, according to Shelburne resident Cheryl Bower.

“It’s a tradition of giving and sharing that I think the world needs a lot more of,” she said.

This year’s Christmas gift will be lit in Gloucester on Nov. 30.

The event will also be livestreamed so people in Shelburne can watch residents of their sister city open their present.

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