As an international student, I find myself wondering what Canadian thanksgiving is really about. It is not celebrated on the same day as American thanksgiving, so I assume they are based on different events. But then why do they have the same name? What are really the reasons for celebrating this holiday? And does it actually have any significance in society today?
Apparently, Canadian thanksgiving is based on nothing more than a law that was passed in 1957, declaring the second Monday of October to be Thanksgiving Day, where Canadians celebrate the harvest and blessings of the past year.
It is a general day of giving thanks, and thus has been given the name “Thanksgiving”. Pretty self-explanatory, right?
However, in this day and age, where the majority of Canadians buy their produce instead of harvesting it from their farms and a substantial amount of food is imported; thus, does Thanksgiving in its traditional sense really have any significance? Probably not.
So, essentially, Canadian Thanksgiving is just another holiday where people get together with their family, eat a massive amount of food, and drink. Hey, if it means we get an extra day off, who am I to complain?
Happy Thanksgiving, HC UBC!