All good wishes to Canadians everywhere celebrating Thanksgiving this long weekend.
I’ve never understood why the Americans wait so long to do their Thanksgiving. No sooner have you cleaned up your home on the last weekend of November that you find you have less than a month to start all over again with Christmas. At least, however, you can catch up with your last minute gift shopping on Black Friday!
This year, too, whether this month or in Novmber we’ll be coping with the restraints and sadness of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result it will be harder for us to find things to thank for: but perhaps in time we will be thankful for the lessons the pandemic will have taught us, particularly the political lessons, and those lessons will help us create a better future for kids.
Needless to say Canada and the USA are not the only countries in the world to celebrate Thanksgiving. Although in the UK there is a relative feeble alternative in the form of Harvest Festivals, even those seem to be dying out. In all there are nine where the event is official party time. According to Wikipedia…
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Liberia, and the sub-national entities Leiden, Norfolk Island, and Puerto Rico.
If you’re into history in the ‘New World,’ take a look at this article
Here is its abstract … click through for the whole story.
The first official, annual Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated on 6 November 1879, though Indigenous peoples in Canada have a history of celebrating the fall harvest that predates the arrival of European settlers. Sir Martin Frobisher and his crew are credited as the first Europeans to celebrate a Thanksgiving ceremony in North America, in 1578.
They were followed by the inhabitants of New France under Samuel de Champlain in 1606. The celebration featuring the uniquely North American turkey, squash and pumpkin was introduced to Nova Scotia in the 1750s and became common across Canada by the 1870s. In 1957, Thanksgiving was proclaimed an annual event to occur on the second Monday of October.
It is an official statutory holiday in all provinces and territories except Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
| Article by | David Mills, Andrew McIntosh, Laura Neilson Bonikowsky |
| Updated by | Celine Cooper |
| Published Online | July 5, 2019 |
| Last Edited | July 5, 2019 |
So whether you’re Canadian or not, join us and raise a glass or cup to Canadian Thanksgiving on Monday, October 12th!
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