In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. This is the time when people gather to give thanks for the good harvests and fortune they have had throughout the year. Learn all about this celebration and how it is celebrated in Canada.

Thanksgiving in Canada

The tradition of Thanksgiving Day dates back to a celebration of Native American peoples, long before the arrival of settlers, where they celebrated and gave thanks for that year’s bountiful harvest.

The first celebrations of the conquerors date back to 1578, when the English explorer, Martin Frobisher arrived in the country we know today as Canada, while seeking a passage from the north to the east.

On his third voyage to Canada, Frobisher suffered the loss of one of his ships en route, and upon his arrival in Canada he celebrated with peas and corned beef. And after that, it became a tradition for war refugees to be part of this celebration. It will be another 43 years before pilgrims can be part of this festival.

Unlike Thanksgiving in the United States, in Canada it is celebrated a month earlier and that is because the harvest season starts earlier in the north of the country than in the United States.

Is Thanksgiving Day a public holiday?

Thanksgiving in Canada has been a nationally recognized holiday since 1879. The date on which this celebration takes place changed for many years and in 1957 it was established that it would take place on the second Monday in October.

In New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, it is not an official holiday.

In Nova Scotia, Thanksgiving is a day when businesses retail stores must remain closed. Whereas in New Brunswick it is a prescribed rest day and businesses must be closed. And in Prince Edward Island, it’s not a holiday so many families choose to celebrate their Thanksgiving the previous Sunday.

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doHow is it celebrated?

Today, people often take advantage of weekends and Mondays to skip work or school, to visit family and loved ones. They get together to cook Thanksgiving dinner.

Traditionally, the dishes eaten are roast turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, seasonal produce such as pumpkins, corn or pecans. In Newfoundland they prepare the traditional Frobisher feast which usually includes Jiggs, a dish of boiled meat with pea pudding.

It is very common for dessert to be pumpkin pie after the meal or, in Ontario, butter pies or puff pastry filled with syrup are usually eaten.

Tell us how you are going to celebrate Thanksgiving?

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