Port Mouton Lobster Trap Christmas Tree

Oh Buoy, Lobster Trap Christmas Trees..

On Nova Scotia’s South Shore, home to Lunenburg County – officially recognized as the ‘Balsam Fir Christmas Tree Capital of the World’ in 1995, we celebrate Christmas in ways just like you and yours and in some ways like us ours!! That means we have holiday traditions that you may be familiar with and some that you may not, but doesn’t everyone!!

We’re a community that loves our celebrations, you might have heard us say “Nova Scotia’s South Shore, where GOOD time are a SHORE thing” and Christmas sits high on the top of the celebration list!

You’ll find our brightly coloured homes and glowing businesses adorned with twinkling lights, fresh trees, boughs, swags and wreaths here on Nova Scotia’s South Shore during the Christmas season. Truly we decorate in many wasy that are much the same as you will in other areas BUT have you ever seen a Lobster Trap Christmas Tree?

A tree made by stacking lobster traps, with fresh greenery added here and there. Imagine if you will that instead of the ornaments you see in your Christmas memory that the tree is adorned with buoys. On those bright buoys is the hand written name of a loved one who is no longer with us, a memory of sign of respect.

It’s believed the Lobster Trap Christmas Tree tradition started in 2001 in the historic fishing port of Gloucester, Mass., and has since spread to several seafaring communities in New England. The trees first started appearing along Canada’s East Coast about 2008: and we’ve been admiring the towering Christmas trees fashioned out of carefully stacked lobster traps ever since.

Adorned with colourful buoys, those twinkling lights and heavily scented evergreen boughs, they are becoming regular fixtures in fishing communities across Atlantic Canada. Here on Nova Scotia’s South Shore three of our communities are home to these trees.

On Nova Scotia’s South Shore you’ll find we gather in our memories and in the joy of lighting the Lobster Trap Christmas Trees in similar fashion to the Tree Lighting Ceremony in your home town and we proudly invite you to add a visit to one or all three to your Christmas sight seeing adventure this season!!

Add one or all three of the Lobster Trap Christmas Trees to your Christmas Light Tour (don’t forget to tag your photos #southshoreNICE. We’ll SEA you when you get here!

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