Here is a little bit of Thanksgiving history that I nicked from the ArmyBarmy blog(see blog pages on left).
Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated 43 years before the pilgrims landed inPlymouth, Massachusetts!Canadian Parliament: Thanksgiving would be "a day of general thanksgiving to almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed."
"http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p2614.htm
Canadian Thanksgiving:
The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving are more closely connected to the traditions of Europe than of the United States. Long before Europeans settled in North America, festivals of thanks and celebrations of harvest took place in Europe in the month of October. The very first Thanksgiving celebration in North America took place in Canada when Martin Frobisher, an explorer from England, arrived in Newfoundland in 1578. He wanted to give thanks for his safe arrival to the New World.
That means the first Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated 43 years before the pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts!For a few hundred years, Thanksgiving was celebrated in either late October or early November, before it was declared a national holiday in 1879. It was then, that November 6th was set aside as the official Thanksgiving holiday. But then on January 31, 1957, Canadian Parliament announced that on the second Monday in October, Thanksgiving would be "a day of general thanksgiving to almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed."
Thanksgiving was moved to the second Monday in October because after the World Wars, Remembrance Day (November 11th) and Thanksgiving kept falling in the same week.Another reason for Canadian Thanksgiving arriving earlier than its American counterpart is that Canada is geographically further north than the United States, causing the Canadian harvest season to arrive earlier than the American harvest season. And since Thanksgiving for Canadians is more about giving thanks for the harvest season than the arrival of pilgrims, it makes sense to celebrate the holiday in October.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in Canada. I am blessed to have been invited out to celebrate with friends(and some distant family I haven't met yet), although I am sad that I am missing all the traditions of my family Thanksgiving feast. I am also thankful for great friends. Who are gracious, loving and forgiving - even when life gets tough and I screw up.
What are you thankful for in your heart this Thanksgiving? Remember to give thanks to the Almighty for it...and don't hesitate to share if you feel so inclined.
Blessings.
2 days ago
3 comments:
thanx you, Dee for the fantastic history lesson!!!! Wow. . that's cool.
Tomorrow our family will feast and give thanks as we're together. . I'm sorry that you can't be with your family back home in T., but you are with your B.C. fam!!!
i just made a pretty hot blogger and your pic is on it! and i was going throuvgh old xanga posts of mine to find a picture i didnt hate for my blogger site...and i was reading your comments and my adventures...i miss the days of messeages about "im free in the afternoon come visit me" those days were fun! it was pretty flippin sweet when we finally met and hung out at the burrs! oh you are so cool! and im glad i got to know u on the summer! thanks for being a cool denise! :-D
We all are thankful for whatever we have in life....and we all should be thanksful to the Almighty for it. And on Thnanksgiving all should be thankful in their very hearts for their wonderful family and friends who make Thanksgiving so much special. Visit this amazing Thanksgiving Blog to spread the cheer and joy of Thanksgiving
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