Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!
Canadian Thanksgiving Day falls on the second Monday of October.
Canadian Thanksgiving 2023 was on Monday, October 9th.
That’s right! Canadian Thanksgiving happens a full month and a half before American Thanksgiving!
Canadian Thanksgiving is an annual Canadian holiday.
It is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed.
It is a celebration of the good harvests of the past year.
Thanksgiving is a time for friends and families to get together, share plenty of food and gather round games or TV to watch Canadian football.
Language at work
day off : a day when you do not work.
harvest : the time of the year when the crops are cut and collected.
crop(s) : the total amount collected of a plant such as a grain, fruit or vegetable.
Cultural tips
The very first Canadian Thanksgiving is thought to have happened in 1578 after the explorer Martin Frobisher’s third expedition to Canada.
After losing one of his ships, Frobisher decided to have a feast to celebrate his safe passage after landing in Nunavut.
The holiday became codified in the Canadian calendar in the 19th century, when Canadian Protestants petitioned for an official Thanksgiving day in 1859 to thank God for the good harvests.
It became a national holiday that year but only became Thanksgiving officially on the second Monday of October in 1957.
Canadian or American?
So… While Canadian Thanksgiving is always held on the second Monday of October, US Thanksgiving is held on the fourth Thursday of November.
Read more about American Thanksgiving Day
Similarities
People often use this long weekend to visit family or friends who live far away, or to receive them in their own homes.
Both countries prepare a special meal to eat.
Traditionally, people feast on roast turkey and seasonal produce, such as pumpkin and pecan nuts.
A common symbol is a cornucopia, or horn, filled with seasonal fruit and vegetables.
The cornucopia, which means “Horn of Plenty” in Latin, was a symbol of bounty and plenty in ancient Greece.
Turkeys, pumpkins, corn and large displays of food are also used to symbolize Thanksgiving Day.
HAPPY CANADIAN THANKSGIVING DAY TO YOU ALL!
