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Canadian Thanksgiving
DCHP-2 (May 2016)
n.
a statutory holiday in Canada; since 1957 celebrated on the second Monday in October.
Type: 5. Frequency — In Canada, Canadian Thanksgiving is simply called Thanksgiving. The term Canadian Thanksgiving is used in contrast with the American holiday of the same name held in late November. From the late 19th century to the mid-1950s, Canadian Thanksgiving was celebrated on the same date as American Thanksgiving, though early Canadian voices saw the late Thanksgiving date as an American tradition (see the 1898 quotation). In 1957, the federal government changed the date to the second Monday in October. The term continues to be most prevalent in Canada. (see Chart 1).
Note that the quotations from 1872 to 1937 all include article "a/the" with the term, while later quotations do not. It appears the term evolved from phrases such as "the Canadian Thanksgiving Day" (see, e.g. the 1896 quotation) and "a Canadian Thanksgiving Day" (see, e.g. the 1872 quotation), to become simply Canadian Thanksgiving and, much more frequently, Thanksgiving.
Note that the quotations from 1872 to 1937 all include article "a/the" with the term, while later quotations do not. It appears the term evolved from phrases such as "the Canadian Thanksgiving Day" (see, e.g. the 1896 quotation) and "a Canadian Thanksgiving Day" (see, e.g. the 1872 quotation), to become simply Canadian Thanksgiving and, much more frequently, Thanksgiving.
There is some debate as to whether the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday preceded the American one (see, e.g., the 2012 quotation). Before 1879, celebrations that were called thanksgiving took place in honour of different significant events (e.g. the cessation of war, see also Canadian Heritage website, s.v. "Proclamation and Observance of General Thanksgiving Days"). In 1879, the government began to issue annual proclamations for the celebration. The date of the holiday fluctuated between the American date and a Monday in October. In 1957, another proclamation fixed the latter date as that of Canadian Thanksgiving (see Canadian Heritage references).
Quotations
1872
[Singular Hoax - No Appointment for a Canadian Thanksgiving From the Montreal Herald, Oct. 23.
The announcement made first in an Ottawa paper, and afterward telegraphed to us by our Quebec correspondent, that the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec had issued a proclamation fixing to-morrow as a general day of thanksgiving for national blessings, turns out, as we ascertain from inquiry to official quarters, to have been without foundation. We very much regret having been made the medium of giving currency to the report, as we learn that in some of the city churches services were arranged for in consequence of it. Most of the leading Protestant denominations, following, if we mistake not, the lead of the Church of Scotland in this matter, have resolved upon Nov. 14 as a day of thanksgiving, and we presume that day will be generally observed, at least among the Protestants of the Dominion.]
1896
An American paper says, alluding to the fact that the Canadian Thanksgiving Day is on the same date as the American: "Canada will give thanks with us on the last Thursday in November; but she won't take our little silver, except at a discount - which shows a fine Canadian capacity for discriminating between sentiment and business."
1898
When Canada first adopted the Yankee idea of setting apart a day for thanksgiving to the Lord, the first Thursday in November was fixed, year after year, for the holding. When the present American government came into power at Ottawa [sic!], it went a step further in Yankeeism and ordered the holding of thanksgiving day on the last Thursday in November, the date of the American thanksgiving day. But that is entirely too late for Canada. It is too near Christmas, and the weather in Canada is not generally very good in the last days of November. The general opinion seems to be that the holiday should be fixed late in October, when better weather is to be expected. Many of our contemporaries are advocating a change in the date, and the Spectator adds its say to the general clamor to fix the Canadian thanksgiving holiday according to the Canadian weather probabilites. Late in November may be all right in Florida or Louisiana, but it is all wrong north of the great lakes.
1917
The football players were much disappointed in not being able to go Toronto, but Sergt. George McNulty, coach of the team, has made arrangements to substitute the All-Syracuse team, champions of New York State, and the latter will play the aviators in Toronto on the Canadian Thanksgiving Day.
1937
In 1816 the first thanksgiving proclamation for Upper Canada (Ontario) was issued, signalizing the end of the war between Great Britain and France. There was another Canadian thanksgiving in 1849 "in acknowledgement of mercies received and cessation of grievous disease." In 1872 there was one to celebrate the restored health of the Prince of Wales. But the first of our regular annual thanksgiving days was in 1879.
1967
Canadian Thanksgiving is a pretty ambiguous festival. It doesn't coincide with the American Thanksgiving, which comes on with great flourishes of turkeys and Pilgrim Fathers: and churches seem to have their harvest-home festivals any old time they feel like it in September. Many adult Canadians forget the ritual and take the Thanksgiving holiday for the blessing it is - the last good-weather long weekend before the frost sets in.
1975
Down-under the Aussies are planning a bit of celebration to coincide with Canadian Thanksgiving. The date is October 13 at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney.
2001
But familiar rituals - family gatherings, turkey dinners, quiet autumn walks, giving thanks - are essential at times like this. They are a powerful reminder that life's cycles go on, despite tragedy, war and hardship. They connect each generation to those that have gone before. They highlight what is still right and positive in people's lives.
It is somehow appropriate that Canadian Thanksgiving should come six weeks before its American equivalent. The losses on this side of the border are not as staggering, the sense of vulnerability not quite as acute.
2012
When I was growing up in Edmonton in the 1970s, we learned all about Thanksgiving - the story of the Pilgrim Fathers, the gracious cooperation between First Nations farmers and starving colonists.
That American myth has nothing to do with the real history of Canadian Thanksgiving.
Our first Thanksgiving was actually celebrated in 1578 - 43 years before the Pilgrims hit Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts - by the great Elizabethan maritime explorer and privateer Sir Martin Frobisher, in what is today Iqaluit.
References
- Canadian Heritage • "Proclamation and Observance of General Thanksgiving Days and reasons therefore"
- Canadian Heritage • "Thanksgiving and Remembrance Day"
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