Thanksgiving in Canada

How Thanksgiving got to Canada

In Canada Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second
Monday in October. Canadians give thanks for a successful harvest.
The harvest season is earlier in Canada than in the United States because
Canada is further north. Thanksgiving in Canada was also celebrated
43 years before it was celebrated in the United States.

Canadian and Quebec Flags at Full Mast, Montreal, Canada

Photographic Print

by Wayne Walton

Our Price:

$49.99

Usually ships same day

Thanksgiving started in Canada with the English explorer, Martin Frobisher,
who was on his way to the Orient. He did not make it to the Far East but
instead established a settlement in Northern America. To give thanks for
surviving the long journey he held a formal ceremony. This took place in 1578 in
NewFoundland.This was Canada's First Thanksgiving. Other settlers arrived
and continued these ceremonies. He was later knighted and had an inlet of
the Atlantic Ocean in northern Canada named after him - Frobisher Bay.

French settlers also crossed the ocean at that time and arrived in Canada
with explorer Samuel de Champlain, also held huge feasts of thanks.
They even formed 'The Order of Good Cheer' and gladly shared their food
with their Indian neighbours.

Thanksgiving Greetings, Corn and Pumpkin

Fine Art Print

Our Price:$19.99

During the American Revolution, Americans who remained loyal to
England moved to Canada where they brought the customs and practices
of the American Thanksgiving to Canada. There are many similarities between
the two thanksgivings such as cornucopia and pumpkin pie

On January 31st, 1957, the Canadian Parliament proclaimed...

"A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful
harvest with which Canada has been blessed ... to be observed
on the 2nd Monday in October.

Both Canadians and Americans celebrate Thanksgiving with parades, family gatherings, pumpkin pie and a whole lot of turkey!

Children's Thanksgiving Stories

Easy Thanksgiving Decorations

String of Leaves

Supplies needed:

Construction paper (orange, red, yellow, brown, and other earth tones) Crayons or markers Scissors Glue, tape, or staples A long piece of green or brown yarn or string 1. Draw a leaf on a piece of construction paper. Make sure to draw a thick stem on the top (your leaf will hang from this stem, which will be folded over). 2. Cut out the leaf. Draw the leaf veins if you wish. Fold the leaf's stem in half. 3. Attach the leaf to a long string using tape, glue, or staples. Make more leaves and attach them to the string. Hang your string of leaves across the room for a wonderful Thanksgiving decoration.