Thanksgiving is a holiday enjoyed by millions of people each year. It is a time of joyful celebration that brings family and friends together for a holiday feast. But there are sometimes differences in the ways some holidays are celebrated. As an example, here are some of the biggest differences between Thanksgiving in Canada and the U.S.
For one thing, Thanksgiving comes a lot earlier in Canada. Canadian Thanksgiving takes place on the second Monday in October, instead of the fourth Thursday in November. No one knows exactly why there is this difference, but one theory is that harvest, which is believed to be part of the history behind Thanksgiving, simply starts earlier in Canada than it does in the US.
Canadians are likely to get less time off than Americans. Canadians automatically get the Monday of Thanksgiving off work in most parts of the country — except in the Atlantic provinces (Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador) where it remains an optional holiday. Americans get both Friday and Monday off.
It is believed that Thanksgiving started in Canada first. The earliest recorded Canadian Thanksgiving celebration dates back to 1578, after explorer Martin Frobisher’s third voyage to Canada. This was years ahead of the first recorded US feast between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans at Plymouth in 1621.
Canadian’s don’t associate Thanksgiving with sports as much as Americans do. In the US, everyone seems to watch the game, only the true football fans tune into sports during Thanksgiving in Canada — the others are too busy eating.
Black Friday isn’t really a thing in Canada. While in the U.S. people can’t wait to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving, in Canada there are no big shopping sales surrounding the weekend at all. Canadians don’t have a big parade for Thanksgiving either.
This year enjoy your Thanksgiving no matter where you live.
