Record high temperatures nearing 70 degrees didn’t prevent about 5,000 people from getting into the holiday spirit on the Boston Common Thursday night at the annual lighting of the city’s official Christmas tree.
The tree is a 47-foot white spruce given to the city by Floyd and Elaine Shatford of Nova Scotia. Mayor Thomas Menino, who was scheduled to appear at the ceremony, was represented by his wife Angela because the mayor is still recovering from a knee injury sustained on Nov. 8 from a fall at his son’s Hyde Park home, according to The Boston Globe.
Nova Scotia Deputy Premier Frank Corbett was on hand to explain the tradition behind the annual ceremony, hosted by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. This is the 38th year Nova Scotia has donated a tree to Boston as a gift in thanks for the city’s assistance following the 1917 explosion of a munitions ship in Halifax, Nova Scotia that killed about 2,000 people.
‘Tonight is a celebration of the strong bond between Nova Scotia and the great people of Boston,’ Corbett said.
Boston College juniors Megan Shane and Alanna O’Grady said they came for the music, which featured performances by R&B artist Brian McKnight and American Idol season six contestant Melinda Doolittle.
‘I’ve never been before and we didn’t have any work to do,’ Shane said.
It was also the first time for Mary Goode of Scituate, who came with her friend Terry Joyce, a Rockland resident.
‘It’s something we’ve always wanted to do,’ Goode said.
Local musical acts including the Boston Arts Academy Dance Troupe, Scottish singer Maureen McMullan, the Masquerade cabaret troupe and the Huntington Theatre Company led the crowd in renditions of Christmas carols before the tree lighting, which was followed by fireworks.
‘It’s a nice night to see some free entertainment,’ Bostonian Brian Kondracki, who was holding his 1-year-old son James, said.
Liz and Kevin O’Donnell of Dedham said they have come to the tree lighting for the past several years with their son Joe, 7, and daughter Kate, 5, who couldn’t wait for Santa Claus to make an appearance.
‘We just like being out with the whole city,’ Liz said.
Wheelock College sophomore Jaime Ziemba said her favorite part was the fireworks.
‘I thought it was long, but it was fun,’ she said.
Emerson College junior Alysia Eggerman was in the crowd with her boyfriend Monty Cole, also an Emerson junior. Cole said his favorite part of the evening was the actual lighting of the tree, but Eggerman preferred the visit from St. Nick.
‘It was really fun,’ she said. ‘It’s a great way to kick off the holiday season.’
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