Saturday, October 9, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada

Thanksgiving in Canada is celebrated on the second Monday of October, due to the earlier harvest. It did not become an official, national holiday in Canada until 1957 when Parliament declared it to be: "A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed." Despite the references to God, Thanksgiving in Canada is not officially considered to be a religious holiday and it is instead designed to coincide with the secular harvest festivals of England and Europe.


Since Canada shares such a similar colonial history to the United States, many of the cultural trappings of Canada's Thanksgiving are the same. The American traditions of food (turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce), decoration (gourds, cornucopias, wheat) and celebration (big family dinner) are all identical in Canada.

So, I would like to wish the Canadian contingent of Martha Moments readers a very Happy Thanksgiving! Eat well. Be well. And thanks to everyone for your support.

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