Boston Christmas tree 2015 is from a former Boston Marathoner

The Christmas tree that will soon makeits way from Nova Scotia to Boston this year is coming from a Pictou County family that knows a thing or two about long-distance journeys.

Bill and Andrea MacEachern of Lorneare donating the 15-metre, 72-year-old white spruce, nineteen years after BillMacEachern ran in the 100thanniversary of the Boston Marathon and finished in the top fiveper cent.

Zach Churchill, acting minister of Natural Resources, said in a news release thatMacEachern "came to know the spirit of Boston when he ran in its famous marathon and, today, he and Andrea are helping us to honour that spirit with this gift."

Boston was quick to send medical personnel and supplies after the 1917 HalifaxExplosion, which killed about 2,000 people and injured thousands.

As a thank you, Halifax sent Boston a Christmas tree in 1918. In 1971, the Lunenburg County Christmas Tree Producers Association revived the gift and began an annual tradition to promote Christmas tree exports.