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A Canadian Thanksgiving |
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Most Canadians celebrates Thanksgiving in one way or
the next and assume that we copied this day from our
American fiends. But there is so much more to this
day of feasting, so much more. Compared to the
American traditions our feast had a very strong
Native experiences but |
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By Ronald Wolf |
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that is all we have in common.
In fact, Canadians beat the Americans to
the dinner table.
Our special day started long ago. Although
it was celebrated by different people we all came together
and had one day of celebration.
The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving are
more closely connected to the traditions of Europe than of
the United States. Long before Europeans settled in North
America, festivals of thanks and
celebrations of harvest
took place in Europe in the month of October, stated the
website twilightbridge.com.
The very first Thanksgiving
celebration
in North America took place in Canada when Martin Frobisher,
an explorer from
England,
arrived in Newfoundland in 1578. He wanted to give thanks
for his safe arrival to the New World. That means the first
Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated 43 years before the
pilgrims landed in Plymouth,
Mass. |
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Martin Frobisher, was an explorer who was
looking for a northern passage to the Pacific Ocean. Other
explorers, Henry Hudson and Sir John Franklin, also looked
for the same passage years before but their adventure ended
with their premature deaths.
Fortunately, Frobisher did find the
passage and in 1578, he held a formal ceremony, in what is
now the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, to give
thanks for surviving the long journey. The feast was one of
the first Thanksgiving celebrations by Europeans in North
America. Frobisher was later knighted and had an inlet of
the Atlantic Ocean in northern Canada named after him
Frobisher Bay.
Meanwhile, French settlers, having crossed
the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de
Champlain, (was largely involved in finding this area of
Ontario) in 1604 onwards also held huge feasts of thanks.
After the Seven Years' War ended in 1763
handing over of New France to the British, the citizens of
Halifax held a special day of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving
days were observed beginning in 1799 but did not occur every
year. After the American Revolution, American refugees who
remained loyal to Great Britain moved from the newly
independent United States and came to Canada.
They brought the customs and practices of
the American Thanksgiving to Canada. The first Thanksgiving
Day after Canadian Confederation was observed as a civic
holiday on April 5, 1872 to celebrate the recovery of the
Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) from a serious
illness.
Starting in 1879 Thanksgiving Day was
observed every year, but the date was proclaimed annually
and changed year to year. The theme of the Thanksgiving |
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holiday also changed each year to
reflect an important event to be thankful for. In its early
years it was for an abundant harvest and occasionally for a
special anniversary, stated crewsnest.vispa.com.
For a few hundred years, Thanksgiving was
celebrated in either late October or early November, before
it was declared a national holiday in 1879. It was then,
that Nov. 6th was set aside as the official Thanksgiving
holiday.
According to
the website kidzworld.com, after The First
World War, both Armistice Day and Thanksgiving were
celebrated on the Monday of the week in which Nov. 11
occurred. Ten years later, in 1931, the two days became
separate holidays, and Armistice Day was renamed Remembrance
Day.
But then on Jan. 31, 1957, Canadian Parliament announced
that on the second Monday in October, Thanksgiving would be
a day of general thanksgiving to almighty God for the
bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed.
Another reason for this was Remembrance Day
(November 11th)
and Thanksgiving kept falling in the same week.
Since Thanksgiving for Canadians is more
about giving thanks for the harvest season than the arrival
of pilgrims, it makes sense to celebrate the holiday in
October.
Whatever the reason, it is the season for
turkey dinners and pumpkin pie.
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Next month
will focus on the devotion and service of Canadians in
defence of our country and people in need around the world.
Remembrance day is a time to reflect on the sacrifice of
other Canadians, the advantages which Canadians have been
given simply by being Canadian and the history of our
service to the world. |
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Remembrance
day - Lest we Forget |
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The Gulf of
Georgia Cannery |
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Canada's
Greatest Artist |
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Youth and
Canadian History |
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Champlain -
Father of Canada |
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Ron Wolf |
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Surveys are a funny
thing when dealing with history. Many who make a judgement about
Canadian Prime Ministers have a memory or those that have served
while they have been alive and the Prime Minister's before that are
looked upon largely through the eyes of modern media's
interpretation. A case in point regarding this month's survey of
best and worst Prime Ministers is Paul Martin. He is one case
where the opinion of his term as Prime Minister is bound to improve.
His relatively short period at the helm was marked by Liberal party
fatigue, media obsession with scandals, and personal attacks. His
record was one of unsurpassed financial accomplishments and positive
domestic and international progress. Rest easy Mr Martin. You will
surely be climbing higher on the greatest list and will drop in the
worst list - time is on your side. |
