Boston’s famed Christmas Tree will be departing native Nova Scotia Wednesday morning as the Canadian province’s annual thank you for a incident that occurred back in 1917. As it winds its way across the border into American territory, you can follow its journey by way of Twitter (as in years past). Yes, Boston’s Christmas Tree will be tweeting the entire 659-mile journey until it arrives in Boston Common on Friday.

The tradition is one that began in 1917 when a ship in Nova Scotia’s Halifax Harbor exploded, killing thousands and razing nearby buildings to the ground.

The City of Boston, though, never one to stand idle in times of turmoil, dispatched food, water and medical supplies within hours to help temper the tragedy and provide aid to those in peril.

In a hearty expression of gratitude, our Canadian brethren sent down a massive evergreen tree to help us ring in the holiday season. The tradition reignited in 1971 and has happened yearly ever since.

According to the tree’s website – of course it has a website, it has a Twitter feed after all – the 47-foot, 40-year-old symbol of Christmas was donated by Mary Lou Milligan of Mill Cove in Lunenburg County.

The tree-cutting ceremony took place yesterday morning and today, at 11:30 a.m., the send-off will take place after a celebratory parade.

You can track the tree’s progress by following @TreeForBoston on Twitter. The 72nd annual tree lighting ceremony will take place on Thursday, December 5, after which Mayor Menino will join residents for the lighting of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.

Track its progress thus far right here:

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