Being a Canadian living in America, I take a lot of flak. Namely, people pause every time I ask where the washroom is, they make fun of me when I talk about the weather in Celsius (gentle reminder, the rest of the world operates in Celsius, not Fahrenheit) and they laugh whenever I say "sorry". Having lived here for seven-plus years, I've learned to grin and bear it. But there is one time a year when I want to scream -- and that happens every Canadian Thanksgiving.
So, here I am, writing a post to answer all your questions, once and for all.
WTF is Canadian Thanksgiving?
The first Canadian Thanksgiving is said to have occurred in 1578, when English explorer Martin Frobisher arrived in Newfoundland and wanted to celebrate his safe arrival to the New World. (This date happens to be more than 40 years before the pilgrims landed in Massachusetts). It wasn't until 1879 that it was declared a national holiday, and it wasn't until 1957 that its October date was set.
Getty Images, Shutterstock, Art by Abby Williams
Advertisement
So, when is it?
The second Monday in October (which also happens to be Columbus Day in the U.S.).
Why is it earlier?
Because the harvest is earlier in Canada (aka it gets cold sooner).
What do Canadians eat on Thanksgiving?
Mexican food. No, I'm kidding. We eat turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie. But we don't do the whole marshmallow and sweet potato thing -- we leave that to you guys. 😷
If your Thanksgiving is on a Monday, what about Black Friday?
We don't have Black Friday. Instead, we have something called Boxing Day, which comes on Dec. 26.
Thank you and goodnight.
Also on HuffPost:
Advertisement