Canadian Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving, Canadian style...
When Thanksgiving is mentioned, the United States is often likely to come to mind as the location of its celebration. Canada has its own Thanksgiving, however, and it bears a rich history of its own.
The original celebrations of Thanksgiving in Canada were held by the First Nations--a universal term used to describe the over 600 groups of indigenous Canadian tribes. Like the Native Americans, the First Nations would give thanks for a bountiful harvest and the health and well-being of their tribes.
The European adaptation of this celebration is attributed originally to an explorer named Martin Frobisher. Frobisher, upon returning from a journey seeking the famed Northwest Passage, held a formal banquet in what is now Newfoundland and Labrador in honor of his safe homecoming.
The story of Frobisher's Thanksgiving has come under scrutiny in recent years, and scholars today believe that the closest Frobisher came to a Thanksgiving celebration was a prayer he led aboard his ship, the Julia, when the surviving parts of his expedition reached Countess of Warwick Island in August of 1578.
Another long held belief in Canadian history is that the first Thanksgiving feast was actually held in 1604 by Samuel de Champlain and his Order of Good Cheer. The truth of the matter is that no documented link exists between what is recognized today as Thanksgiving in Canada and the celebrations of the Order of Good Cheer.
While the French celebrations continued onward from 1604, other singular events of "thanks giving" occurred. One such celebration took place following the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763, when New France was handed over to Great Britain. Another source for what would become the Canadian Thanksgiving stemmed from the late eighteenth century influx of American refugees. These loyalists to the British crown, fleeing the newly formed United States, brought with them their traditions.
Thanksgiving came first as a religious holiday, thanks to Protestant lobbying, in 1859. The first occasion that Thanksgiving was recognized as a civic holiday came in April of 1872, in celebration of the Prince of Wales' recovery from a major illness.
Thanksgiving was finally declared an annual holiday in 1879, but both the theme of the holiday and the date on which it fell were proclaimed each year, and were never the same twice. Following World War I, Thanksgiving shared its day of celebration with Armistice Day. In 1957 Thanksgiving was declared a distinct holiday, and began to be celebrated on the second Monday of every October. This year, Thanksgiving falls on October 11.
Thanksgiving today is celebrated in all of Canada with the exception of Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia. It is celebrated both religiously and in a secular fashion, and is considered a federal holiday for all government workers.
Traditional celebration of Thanksgiving Day in Canada bears many similarities to Thanksgiving festivities in the United States. In the churches, cornucopias and fall harvest foods such as pumpkins, corn, and wheat are used for decoration. In Christian churches, hymns are sung and scripture read during the Thanksgiving weekend that emphasize gratitude to God for health and bounty. In the synagogues, stories are told of Sukkot, the traditional Jewish harvest festival.
The secular side of the celebration of Thanksgiving in Canada often includes travel. Like Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends in the United States, Canadians often take advantage of the extended holiday to take family trips, and many hotels and resorts in Canada offer specials during that time to draw in travelers.
In the United States, no Thanksgiving weekend would be complete without football. Canadian Thanksgiving is no different. The Canadian Football League plays a doubleheader the weekend of Thanksgiving. It is one of only two times a year that football is played on a Monday afternoon (the other is Labor Day.) The teams selected to play are rotated each year.
Just like their neighbors to the south, Canadians hold a feast on Thanksgiving, with a turkey as the traditional centerpiece. There are some differences between at traditional Canadian Thanksgiving and an American Thanksgiving, however. First is the time the feast takes place. While Americans hold to the actual day of Thanksgiving as their feast day, Canadians often choose any day of that weekend for their big dinner.
Another difference between the two holidays stems from parades. In the United States, the Thanksgiving Day Parade is generally considered to be the beginning of the Christmas season, and many such parades are held nationwide. In Canada, only one major parade is televised throughout the country, and although it coincides with Canadian Thanksgiving, the parade celebrates the Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest.
With all of its similarities and differences, Thanksgiving Day in Canada has the same basic roots as any other such celebration: gratitude for bounty in all aspects of life.
