In a continued gesture of gratitude for Boston’s aid following the devastating 1917 Halifax Explosion, the province of Nova Scotia has once again gifted a Christmas tree to the city that now stands tall in the Boston Common.

According to the Nova Scotia government, this year’s tree, a white spruce from Hugh and Liz Ryan’s property in Mattie Settlement, Antigonish County, was officially lit Dec. 5 at Boston Common, the 350-year-old park where the colonial militia mustered amid the American Revolution.