HAPPY THANKSGIVING CANADIANS!

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.