Canadian thanksgiving what is it about

The first national Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated in the Province of Canada in The first Thanksgiving after Confederation was observed on 5 April A national civic holiday rather than a religious one, it was held to celebrate the recovery of the Prince of Wales later King Edward VII from an illness. Thanksgiving was first observed as an annual event in Canada on 6 November The date for each of the following years, as well as a unifying theme for which to give thanks usually concerning the harvest, though anniversaries related to the British monarchy were also common , was determined annually by Parliament.

The holiday occurred as late in the year as 6 December and even coincided several times with American Thanksgiving. The most popular date to observe Thanksgiving was the third Monday in October, when the fall weather is generally still amenable to outdoor activities. Beginning in , Thanksgiving and Armistice Day introduced in were celebrated on the same day — the first Monday in the week of 11 November. In order to give more recognition to veterans, 11 November was set solely as Remembrance Day in Thanksgiving was again proclaimed annually and typically observed on the second Monday in October.

Thanksgiving is an official statutory holiday in all provinces and territories except Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

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Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. By Lloyd Alter. Lloyd Alter. For about years after the mythical Plymouth Rock event—a controversial story that some argue should be marked as a day of mourning since, among other things, the new settlement was on the site of a region decimated by plague brought on by European contact—Thanksgiving was a minor, loose, regional tradition that was celebrated on whatever day local authorities picked, in the states where anyone even bothered with it at all New England, mainly.

The mythological Plymouth Rock story, which emphasizes manifest destiny, hard work, community and the value of local institutions, was eventually attached to the nation-building holiday. Meanwhile, politicians and businessmen in Upper Canada and other colonies had similar problems to the kind Seward and Lincoln had faced, since nation-building was on the agenda for those trying to push Confederation. Although the scheme was essentially a free-trade pact, Canada needed an identity, and the prevailing concept was a white Protestant nation that would marginalize the claims of Indigenous peoples and other immigrants from Asia and Europe.

The country that prays together, after all, stays together. Since religious leaders believed that Canada never had slavery it did, of course, which Stevens points out , they argued that Canada was the real chosen land; the U. With great blessings come great responsibilities, though, and one of the most important of these was spreading Christianity to the Indigenous, which was the subject of an Thanksgiving sermon delivered in Winnipeg by Rev.

The explorers dined on salt beef, biscuits, and mushy peas and gave thanks through Communion for their safe arrival in then Newfoundland.

Though not known at the time by the settlers, cranberries, rich in vitamin C, are credited with helping avoid scurvy. Medical treatises recommended better nutrition more food and entertainment to combat scurvy. However, despite this history of uniquely Canadian thanksgivings, our modern concepts of Thanksgiving were influenced by our American neighbours. Today Canadian Thanksgiving is held on the second Monday of October every year, or at least it has been since Canadian Parliament declared it so on January 31, Before this, Thanksgiving in Canada had been held sporadically, often coinciding with other major events and anniversaries.

Thanksgiving in Canada coincides with the completion of harvest in much of the country. The most recent date change to the second Monday in October was largely a result of the first and second world wars, which we officially remember each year on November 11, Remembrance Day. This was so that the two holidays would not fall on the same weekend.

As Thanksgiving in Canada has historically been celebrated on several different dates, it is fitting that, even though it is observed on Monday, families are equally as likely to celebrate on Saturday or Sunday.

Most Canadians embraced the change of date to October, since that period better coincides with the actual completion of harvest in much of the country. Newsletters Sign up for any of our newsletters and be eligible to win one of many book prizes available!