In Canada, we have been celebrating Thanksgiving for a (very) long time.

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• Start of the list In Canada, we have celebrated Thanksgiving for a (very) long time with 8 elements. Skip the list?

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    PHOTO : Radio-Canada / Maritne Vanasse

    In Canada, we have been celebrating Thanksgiving for a (very) long time.

  • 1879

    The Canadian Parliament declares Thanksgiving a national holiday. This decision formalizes a practice that has been celebrated sporadically for a very long time. This festival was first set for November 6, a date which coincides with the end of the harvest in the southernmost regions of the country.

  • Much older origins

    

    PHOTO: Library and Archives Canada / Father Claude Chauchetière

    Well before 1879, First Nations were already celebrating the end of the harvest and winter survival with feasts and ceremonies. These traditions influenced Europeans.

  • First the explorer Martin Frobisher

    • In 1578, the Englishman Martin Frobisher, in search of a northwest passage, organized a religious ceremony in what is now Nunavut.
    • He wanted to thank God for allowing him and his crew to survive a particularly difficult expedition.
    • On the menu? Only shelf-stable foods like corned beef, biscuits and mashed peas.

  • Samuel de Champlain’s turn

    

    PHOTO : Hulton Archive/Getty

    In 1606, Samuel de Champlain, founder of New France, inaugurated a tradition associated with Thanksgiving by organizing feasts for the settlers and the Mi’kmaq. Served at the dawn of very harsh winters, these meals also aimed to prevent scurvy by incorporating local foods such as cranberries, rich in vitamin C, which the First Nations introduced to Europeans.

  • 

    After World War I, Thanksgiving was moved so as not to coincide with Armistice Day (now Memorial Day, celebrated on November 11). In 1957, the date was set for the second Monday in October.

    PHOTO : Reuters / HANDOUT

  • A rare celebration in the world

    

    PHOTO : Reuters / Caitlin Ochs

    In the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established Thanksgiving – also to thank abundant harvests – on the last Thursday in November in order to help trade and the economy, particularly in the run-up to Christmas. Only a few other countries celebrate this holiday, including Grenada, Liberia and Saint Lucia.

  • Here, Thanksgiving is not a holiday in certain provinces:

    • New Brunswick
    • Nova Scotia
    • Prince Edward Island
    • Newfoundland and Labrador

  End of the list In Canada, we have celebrated Thanksgiving for a (very) long time with 8 elements. Return to top of list?

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