Thanksgiving Day is a holiday to give thanks for the blessings in one's life, particularly the harvest. It is a day off work for many Canadians.
Thanksgiving Day in Canada has been a holiday on the second Monday of October since 1957. It is a chance for people to give thanks for a good harvest and other fortunes in the past year.
Thanksgiving Day in Canada is linked to the European tradition of harvest festivals.
What do people do?
Many people have a day off work on the second Monday of October. They often use the three-day Thanksgiving weekend to visit family or friends who live far away, or to receive them in their own homes. Many people also prepare a special meal to eat at some point during the long weekend. Traditionally, this included roast turkey and seasonal produce, such as pumpkin, corn ears and pecan nuts. Now, the meal may consist of other foods, particularly if the family is of non-European descent.
The Thanksgiving weekend is also a popular time to take a short autumn vacation. This may be the last chance in a while for some people to use cottages or holiday homes before winter sets in. Other popular activities include: outdoor breaks to admire the spectacular colors of the Canadian autumn; hiking; and fishing. Fans of the teams in the Canadian Football League may spend part of the weekend watching the Thanksgiving Day Classic matches.
Public life
Thanksgiving Day is national public holiday in Canada. Many people have the day off work and all schools and post offices are closed. Many stores and other businesses and organizations are also closed. Public transport services may run to a reduced timetable or may not run at all.
Whilst Thanksgiving Day is holiday at a national level, it is not considered among the list of paid public holidays in New Brunswick under New Brunswick's Employment Standards Act.
Background
The native peoples of the Americas held ceremonies and festivals to celebrate the completion and bounty of the harvest long before European explorers and settlers arrived in what is now Canada. Early European thanksgivings were held to give thanks for some special fortune. An early example is the ceremony the explorer Martin Frobisher held in 1578 after he had survived the long journey in his quest to find a northern passage from Europe to Asia.
Many thanksgivings were held following noteworthy events during the 18th century. Refugees fleeing the civil war in the United States brought the custom of an annual thanksgiving festival to Canada. From 1879, Thanksgiving Day was held every year but the date varied and there was a special theme each year. The theme was the "Blessings of an abundant harvest" for many years. However, Queen Victoria's golden and diamond jubilees and King Edward VII's coronation formed the theme in later years.
From the end of the First World War until 1930, both Armistice Day and Thanksgiving Day were celebrated on the Monday closest to November 11, the anniversary of the official end of hostilities in World War I. In 1931, Armistice Day was renamed Remembrance Day and Thanksgiving Day was moved to a Monday in October. Since 1957, Thanksgiving Day has always been held on the second Monday in October.
Symbols
Thanksgiving Day in Canada is linked to the European tradition of harvest festivals. A common image seen at this time of year is a cornucopia, or horn, filled with seasonal fruit and vegetables. This represents the "Horn of Plenty", which was a symbol of bounty and plenty in ancient Greece. Turkeys, pumpkins, ears of corn and large displays of food are also used to symbolize Thanksgiving Day.
The above is quoted from Wikipedia
So a Happy and safe time to all my Canadian friends and to my Americans friends a Happy Columbus day!!
The views from Ramona at 8am on this hot and sunny and lovely day!!
So the story here is that my great host Gregg has this lovely old home on the Cape with a cottage at the rear of the property and it has been in his family for years and the tradition is that Gregg and his children and his parents come to the house for the summer and today is the last big day when the lock up the house and leave it for the winter….so today was a big day as Greggs parents left and then his son and daughter in law and their children also left…so there was lots of work for them to do. Due to business commitments Gregg is staying till the end of the month then driving to San Miguel to join his wife who flew down there last month!! Before all that Gregg, Chris and another friend and I all played 90 minutes of great tennis.
Back at the house I asked if I could take the three children over to the park and beach to have fun with the kids and to also give their parents time to clean up and get things closed..so the kids and I spent two hours on the beach and in the park we all had fun and they were very well behaved….here is Georgia showing her climbing skills!!
It is very lovely around this area
Saw this on someone’s house porch!!
So all the family left by 4pm and then it was just Gregg and I and we walked down to the beach and had a quick dip in the brisk and cool ocean and then lazed around till 6pm…as soon as the sun goes in it is time for a sweater!!
Tonight after supper we sat and watched some TV……another great day and the good friends and weather made it perfect!!
Big day planned for tomorrow so stay tuned!!!!
1 comment:
We've never been to Cape Cod, I can see why it's such a popular area. Probably too busy for our liking during the summer months though!
www.travelwithkevinandruth.com
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