Americans have critiqued Canadian Thanksgiving for years, and not without reason. Why does it happen so early in the year? Why do they even celebrate it? The Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts after all, not Nova Scotia.
Of course, we all know the story of American Thanksgiving. The pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, and after the harsh winter of 1620-1621, they celebrated a bountiful harvest the next autumn resulting in an event known as Thanksgiving. Every year since 1777, American Thanksgiving has been celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.
Canadian Thanksgiving is a relic from Canada’s colonial past. It originally occurred around the same time as the British harvest festival. After World War I, an amendment to the Armistice Day Act declared that Armistice Day and Thanksgiving would both be celebrated on Monday in the same week as Nov. 11. Later in 1931, the two became separate holidays, with Armistice Day being renamed Remembrance Day. The actual Thanksgiving Day was declared by proclamation until 1957 when Parliament decided it would always occur on the second Monday in October.
Aside from when the celebrations occur, only a little differs between the American and Canadian holidays. In both countries, the dishes on the dinner table are almost exactly the same, turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. The only differences between American and Canadian Thanksgiving are dishes traditionally served in different regions of both countries, dishes such as collard greens in the American South, and the “Jiggs dinner” served in Newfoundland.
Both Canada and the United States traditionally watch Thanksgiving football games, and have Thanksgiving Day parades, along with many smaller local celebrations, such as 5k “turkey trots” and town fairs.
In truth, there is little difference between the way we celebrate Canadian and American Thanksgiving. We both eat turkey, watch a special Thanksgiving football game, and give thanks for our blessings. We should view how we celebrate Thanksgiving as a way to create unity between our two countries.
