Thanksgiving in Canada falls on Columbus Day each year, so you’ll find that many may opt for Thanksgiving rather than Columbus Day. Football, family, parades, and feasts are the theme of the day for Canadians. VOX describes the holiday in a short and sweet way, as this:
The holiday officially commemorates the 1578 voyage of English explorer Martin Frobisher, whose ship barely survived the journey to what is today Canada. The crew gave thanks for surviving the trip, which became Thanksgiving.
In 1957, the Parliament of Canada declared:
A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October.
Reportedly, not all areas of Canada observe the holiday. Wikipedia reports:
Thanksgiving is a statutory holiday in most jurisdictions of Canada, with the exceptions being the Atlantic provinces of Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, where it is an optional holiday.
In addition, there are many similarities between American Thanksgiving and Canadian Thanksgiving. For example:
As a liturgical festival, Thanksgiving corresponds to the English and continental European Harvest festival, with churches decorated with cornucopias, pumpkins, corn, wheat sheaves, and other harvest bounty … Similar to the United States, traditions such as parades and football can be a part of Thanksgiving in Canada. The Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest parade is the most widely known Thanksgiving Day parade in Canada, and is broadcast nationwide on CTV. The Canadian Football League holds a nationally televised doubleheader, the Thanksgiving Day Classic.
Happy Thanksgiving to the Scott Family! @MrDrewScott @MrSilverScott @MrJDScott @TheScottBros XOXO Love the Eremita’s http://t.co/YjXjAkqov6
