t's a tradition with roots as far back as 19-17 and Tuesday, Halifax readies its grandest Christmas gift.

Nova Scotia Christmas tree headed for Boston

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Cheryl Santa Maria

Digital Reporter

Tuesday, November 17, 2015, 5:48 PM - Each year, Nova Scotia gives the people of Boston, Massachusetts a Christmas tree as a way to say thanks for their assistance during the 1917 Halifax explosion.

This year's tree -- a spectacular 15-metre, 72-year-old white spruce -- was chopped down and loaded onto a truck Tuesday.

It will make a 1,000-km journey from Pictou County, Nova Scotia to the Boston Common. The journey is expected to take three days and it is being documented on Twitter. The spruce is slated to arrive Friday, and Boston officials have scheduled a tree lighting ceremony for December 3.

This year's tree was donated by Pictou County residents Bill and Andrea MacEachern.

Students from Dr. W. A MacLeod are pretty excited to be here @TreeforBoston #PictouCounty pic.twitter.com/0wVY3Vo0FC — Amanda Jess (@NGNewsAmanda) November 17, 2015

A large crowd gathered in Lorne, Nova Scotia to send the tree off.

A decades-old tradition

Nova Scotia gifted Boston with a Christmas tree in 1918 after the city sent medical personnel supplies and personnel to help with the infamous Halifax explosion, a disaster that killed 2,000 people.

The Lunenburg Christmas Tree Producers Association sent another tree in 1971, kick-starting an annual tradition.