Happy Thanksgiving thoughts - origin and why it's a happy celebration

bymmonterola

1.2K followers

7 years ago

Today, October 8, 2018, we are celebrating Thanksgiving day in Canada.

This is an annual holiday which was declared in 1879 and inspired by the European tradition of harvest festivals. Before it was observed as a national holiday however, it was first celebrated in 1578 in Canada, when Martin Frobisher, an explorer from England, in search of the Northwest Passage, wanted to give thanks for his safe arrival to the New World.

For the next hundred years, Thanksgiving day was celebrated either late October or early November, until on January 31, 1957, Canadian Parliament announced that it will be celebrated every second Monday in October, so it will not fall in the same week as Remembrance day ( November 11th ) and that it is " a day of general thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed."

Thanksgiving day in Canada ( as well as in the US ) is celebrated with families gathering to enjoy together a feast of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. For us immigrants, we also bring to the party our own traditional dishes.

During this day, sports fans also cheer on their favorite team of the Canadian football league while watching the games on television.

Not all Canadians observe this event though because in the Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, it is an optional holiday.

For my family and our extended families who come together for our Thanksgiving dinner, it also opens up discussions of forthcoming holiday celebrations like our annual big Christmas party in December. We even talked about our plans for the forthcoming family reunion in 2020.

For us employees, it is a long weekend, wherein long overdue household chores are done. And we tend to forget about office work or any work-related stuff. Just chilling at home.

In the Wealthy Affiliate community, this weekend is a welcome time to complete blogs and write comments and learn some more.

Thanksgiving day is indeed a great day, not only to feast on food, but also to look back and count our blessings for the year before.

Happy Thanksgiving day to all Canadians!

How did you celebrate today for this annual holiday?