The Holidays are Just Around the Corner: Prudential Christmas Tree Arrives On Boylston Street; A New Design For A New Location

Business Wire, Nov 8, 1999

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 1999--

Making its way through the streets of Boston with its own special escort crew, the Prudential Christmas Tree, a 52 foot tall white spruce tree from the forests of Nova Scotia, will arrive at Prudential Center early on November 9, 1999.

The Tree will kick off Boston's holiday season when it is lighted on Saturday evening, December 4, beginning at 6:00 PM. Sponsored by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, the Tree Lighting ceremony will be held on the Boylston Street side of Prudential Center in Boston's Back Bay. The Tree will feature 18,000 lights and for the first time ornaments of balls, candy canes, as well as Boston icons such as the Old North Church. The star at the top of the tree will have a strobe lighting effect.

The 28th Annual Tree Lighting ceremony, which draws thousands of local residents and tourists to Prudential Center, will be -- as always -- free and open to the public. This year's celebration will feature 100 members of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, the Buzz Lightyear and Woody characters from Disney on Ice y "Toy Story," Saint Mary's Heavenly Father Steel Drums, the Ed Pabone Salsa Orchestra and a full complement of Acadian, Irish and Scottish dancers from Nova Scotia.

This year 7NBC (WHDH-Boston) will broadcast the event live beginning at 6:30 PM.

"Since we began the Prudential Tree Lighting in 1971, hundreds and hundreds of people have told us it wouldn't be Christmas in Boston without it," said Anna May Kinne, Vice President, Prudential Individual Financial Services. "We are proud of our history with Boston's Tree, and look forward to again sharing the season by recognizing a tradition of giving and commitment to others.

"The Tree Lighting reflects Prudential's own dedication to community, and celebrates an extraordinary humanitarian effort that occurred in 1917," she continued.

Nearly 82 years ago a terrible tragedy forever linked the lives of the people of Boston and the citizens of Halifax, Nova Scotia. On December 16, 1917, a French freighter crammed with munitions and a Norwegian vessel collided in Halifax Harbor causing a nuclear-sized blast that leveled the town and killed more than 1,700 people. That same day, Bostonians rushed a relief train to Halifax packed with medical supplies, doctors and nurses. Much of the money for the aid came from donations made by ordinary citizens.

Every year the province of Nova Scotia sends one of its towering evergreens to Boston to express its thanks for the city's compassionate response and to spread the season's spirit of fellowship.

Prudential, with $375 billion in total assets managed and administered at year-end 1998, is the largest life insurance company in the United States, and one of the largest diversified financial institutions in the world. Prudential has a global presence in 30 countries, providing a variety of products and services in the areas of insurance, investments, securities and real estate to more than 30 million customers.