Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Posted by Maverick ~ on October 10, 2016
Posted in: Flowers, Music, Photography. Tagged: , , , .

20160924-img_0142-edit

History and Origin of Canadian Thanksgiving

In Canada Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. Unlike the American tradition of remembering Pilgrims and settling in the New World, Canadians give thanks for a successful harvest. The harvest season falls earlier in Canada compared to the United States due to the simple fact that Canada is further north.

The history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an English explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Orient. He did not succeed but he did establish a settlement in Northern America. In the year 1578, he held a formal ceremony, in what is now called Newfoundland, to give thanks for surviving the long journey. This is considered the first Canadian Thanksgiving. Other settlers arrived and continued these ceremonies. He was later knighted and had an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean in northern Canada named after him – Frobisher Bay. 

At the same time, French settlers, having crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain, also held huge feasts of thanks. They even formed ‘The Order of Good Cheer’ and gladly shared their food with their Indian neighbours.

After the Seven Year’s War ended in 1763, the citizens of Halifax held a special day of Thanksgiving.

During the American Revolution, Americans who remained loyal to England moved to Canada where they brought the customs and practices of the American Thanksgiving to Canada. There are many similarities between the two Thanksgivings such as the cornucopia and the pumpkin pie.

Eventually in 1879, Parliament declared November 6th a day of Thanksgiving and a national holiday. Over the years many dates were used for Thanksgiving, the most popular was the 3rd Monday in October. After World War I, both Armistice Day and Thanksgiving were celebrated on the Monday of the week in which November 11th occurred. Ten years later, in 1931, the two days became separate holidays and Armistice Day was renamed Remembrance Day.

Finally, on January 31st, 1957, Parliament proclaimed…

“A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed  … to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October.

20161009-img_0012-edit

🍗

21 comments on “Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!”

  1. Thank you! And Happy Thanksgiving to you – it’s the yummiest holiday in Canada and one that has the most genuine meaning to me as far as holidays go. One thing I can say is that I am grateful for your blog – it always inspires me and delights me, both with your words and also with your images. Peace, Harlon

    Liked by 1 person

  2. And a Happy Thanksgiving to you. The Canadian Holiday is not well known here in the states, as shown by the recent lengthy New York Times article in its food section. I was intrigued by your reference to Martin Forbisher, a very interesting historical figure whom I came across in my research for our trip last month through the Northwest Passage. We did not see Frobisher Bay in southeastern Baffin Island, but did see a good bit of the northern sections of Baffin Island. Really like your posts, thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks Robin. I’ve enjoyed the photos of your journey through the Northwest Passage on your blog. What an awesome adventure! Thanks for sharing that. 🙂

      Like

  3. Beautiful images!! And I loved hearing about the history of Canadian Thanksgiving. Honestly I had no idea that the people who were loyal to england during the revolution brought our Thanksgiving traditions to Canada. I’m really dense it seems with Canadian history, so I appreciate you sharing this. And belated Happy Thanksgiving!

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.