How do Canadians Celebrate Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving in Canada is a quiet family holiday which takes place every second Monday in October. It is a statutory holiday in nearly all of Canada, so most of us get the day off.
We celebrate Thanksgiving with a special family dinner. Depending on the family work and travel schedules and how things have been worked out with the in-laws, we can hold it either on Sunday or Monday. The big turkey dinner is just as popular here as it is south of the border, with sides of mashed or roast potatoes, stuffing, green beans, carrots, and corn. However, we also have a large multicultural population, so the dinner could be anything!
One tradition most of us do share is pumpkin pie. That way, we can also use the outside of the pumpkin for early Halloween decorations.
Some of us try to squeeze in an extra weekend getaway, before the real snow hits. Just because Labour Day is the unofficial end of summer doesn`t mean it's the end of outdoor vacations. October is a beautiful time of year in Canada. The fall colour is something that has to be seen to be believed. If there has already been a frost, there won't even be any mosquitoes.
The first official Thanksgiving day proclaimed by the Canadian Parliament was "A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed." Canadian churches of all denominations still hold special Thanksgiving masses, with thanks given for the harvest and for the year just past, and asking God's blessings for the year to come.
The Canadian Football League (CFL) always has a nationally televised double-header on Thanksgiving Day. Canadian football is second only to hockey in the nation's heart. Grey Cup finals are held in late November, so the results of the Thanksgiving Classic are crucial!
Quebec has its own unique version of Thanksgiving Day, which it calls Jour de l'Action de Grace. It's also a statutory holiday, but it's not as important a family occasion as some other Quebec holidays. In Quebec, turkey dinners and such are seen as American things. It doesn't help that there hasn't been a Quebec CFL team since the Montreal Alouettes folded.
We don't really have any big Thanksgiving parades in Canada. The only thing that comes close is Kitchener-Waterloo's Oktoberfest parade, which is held on Thanksgiving Day and televised across the country by two of Canada's largest private television networks. It's a big draw, with over 150,000 visitors. That's a third of the size of Kitchener-Waterloo!
Best of all, there's no Black Tuesday to follow Thanksgiving Day. It's way too early to think of serious Christmas shopping. After the big meal, we can just kick up our feet, relax, and enjoy the presence of family. It's a wonderful day of peace before the snow starts flying.
