Did you know that the United States is not the only country that celebrates Thanksgiving? Canada also celebrates Thanksgiving Day each second monday in october and it is even an official holiday. Therefore, this 2024, the Thanksgiving Day in Canada is October 14.
The most common theory states that Canada celebrates Thanksgiving because, in 1578, the English explorer Martin Frobisher organized a large banquet for his crew upon arriving in Newfoundland in 1578, to give thanks for having achieved a safe journey.
The English arrived on Canadian shores in their quest to find a route to northwest China, by order of the English crown. In this way, on Canadian Thanksgiving, God is thanked for keeping safe the first explorers who ventured into those lands.
However, some trace the tradition back to the indigenous people of North Americawho held celebrations in honor of the fall harvest. According to the Smithsonian Institution, “they tried to ensure a good harvest with dances and rituals.”
European colonizers also introduced a comparable tradition of harvest festivities, represented by the cornucopia or horn of plenty, which has its roots in the peasant societies of Europe.
The first national Thanksgiving on record in Canada was in 1859. The Canadian Encyclopedia says that it was organized at the behest of the leaders of the Protestant clergy, who appropriated the Thanksgiving Day holiday American, which was first celebrated in 1777.
Thanksgiving in Canada has changed its meaning over the years, but today it is about bringing family together, celebrating the start of fall, and the good food that is highlighted by the harvest season.
Because the holiday is Monday, some Canadians prepare their dinners on Saturday or Sunday, they are not specific about this celebration, like in the United States.
Las thanksgiving meals In Canada they vary by province. It is said that in Newfoundland, families often enjoy the Jigg dinner, a dish of boiled meat with pea pudding, similar to the explorers’ original Thanksgiving meal.
In Ontario, families enjoy sweet butter tarts or syrup-filled puff pastry tarts. It is common for the dessert to be a spiced pumpkin pie with cloves, ginger and cinnamon.
The middle Almanac He says that football is also part of the Thanksgiving Day tradition in Canada. “Each year, the Thanksgiving Day Classic doubleheader is broadcast nationally, as four CFL (Canadian Football League) teams play for Thanksgiving glory.”
Thanksgiving in Canada is not a widely celebrated holiday throughout the country and is rare in provinces such as Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.
Be part of our channel on WhatsApp. VIVE USA is now available! Stay informed from your mobile device about the most relevant news on travel, work, life in the United States and Canada, celebrities, trends and much more.
