Well, well, well!
Being the provincial rube that I am, I never realized that Canada celebrated Thanksgiving. Now, as opposed to the American Thanksgiving, Canada's has nothing to do with pilgrims, Indians who felt sorry for clueless settlers, or anachronistic dishes such as turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, and pumpkin pie. (These dishes either were not served at the first Thanksgiving or were impossible to make due to a lack of available ingredients.)
Rather, Canadian Thanksgiving was codified into a nationally recognized holiday from a series of holidays that began in 1578 with the explorer Martin Frobisher; since 1879 Thanksgiving Day began to be observed yearly, though the date was announced yearly and was different every year. Its theme also changed annually to reflect an important event to be thankful for or to commemorate a specific event.
In 1957, the Canadian legislature set the second Monday of October as Thanksgiving. Now, not all Canadians even have a huge meal with families as their Thanksgiving tradition. Some go on vacations, some enjoy picnics, and some even go hunting.
So, with these tidbits of information in mind, I wish a great Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers and my friend Tommy in particular. Have a great one!
