The Shifting Date of Canadian Thanksgiving

Posted on by M.E. Bond Posted in OriginsTagged , ,

Last month while reading Mistress Pat by L.M. Montgomery (the sequel to Pat of Silver Bush), I came across a paragraph that made me wonder about the history of the date of Canadian Thanksgiving.

There came a grim day in November with nothing at first to distinguish it from other days. But in mid-afternoon Gentleman Tom [the family cat] gravely got down from the cushion of Great Grandfather Nehemiah’s chair and looked all about him. Judy and Pat watched him as they made the cranberry pies and turkey dressing for Thanksgiving. He gave one long look at Judy, as she recalled afterwards, then walked out of the house, across the yard and along the Whispering Lane, with his thin black tail held gallantly in air. [emphasis mine]

Mistress Pat was published in 1935. I had assumed that Thanksgiving in Canada took place in October long before that.

Here’s what I learned from a brief period of research online:

  1. The first Thanksgiving in North America took place in Canada (Newfoundland) in 1578, when English explorer Martin Frobisher initiated a ceremony to gave thanks for a safe landing – 42 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
  2. On November 14, 1606, Samuel de Champlain established “The Order of Good Cheer,” a feast of thanks based on the tradition of First Nations tribes and earlier explorers.
  3. In 1763 the citizens of Halifax marked the end of the Seven Years’ War with a Thanksgiving celebration.
  4. Thanksgiving as a harvest celebration (including turkey and pumpkin) was brought from America by the Loyalists during the American Revolution.
  5. However, Thanksgiving was still declared to celebrate particular events, such as the recovery of the Prince of Wales from a serious illness in 1872, when Thanksgiving was observed as a civic holiday on April 5.
  6. Thanksgiving became a national holiday in 1879, when Parliament declared “a day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed.” That year it was celebrated on November 6.
  7. Between 1879 and 1957 Thanksgiving was celebrated every year in either October or November, often on the third Monday in October.
  8. From 1921-1931 Armistice Day (now Remembrance Day) and Thanksgiving were celebrated on the same day, the Monday of the week in which November 11 occurred.
  9. In 1957 the second Monday in October was set as the official date for Thanksgiving.

Now you know the history of the shifting date of Canadian Thanksgiving.

If you haven’t yet made your holiday pies, check out this recipe for butterscotch pie. And in all the feasting and merriment, don’t forget to thank the Lord for all the good things he provides!

Sources:
Canadian Thanksgiving 2014: 3 Ways The Holiday Differs From America’s Turkey Day
History and Origin of Canadian Thanksgiving
Quick history of the first Thanksgiving in Canada
Thanksgiving (Canada) on Wikipedia
Thanksgiving Day in the Canadian Encyclopedia

6 thoughts on “The Shifting Date of Canadian Thanksgiving”

  1. Reply
    Emily says:

    I have wondered about this so often, I don’t know why I didn’t do “a brief period of research” myself! I’m glad I have you to do it for me. What I am most curious about, is in point number 7, how was it decided (and by whom?) when Thanksgiving would be? (Rhetorical question. Unless you actually know.)

    1. M.E. Bond
      Reply
      M.E. Bond says:

      I think Parliament must have set the date each year. Wikipedia says, “From 1931 to 1957, the date was set by proclamation, generally falling on the second Monday in October, except for 1935, when it was moved due to a general election.” Unfortunately, I didn’t come across any more specific information.

  2. Reply
    nellekeplouffe says:

    I think they picked a good date in the end…here it fell right at the height of the autumn colours this year. There’s still a chance of good weather in October, and it’s not too close to Christmas.

  4. Reply
    Shelley says:

    As I often tell folks south of the border, Thanksgiving in October makes much more sense than the US November holiday. By the end of November, there is little to be thankful for, weatherwise or in terms of the harvest, in most parts of North America.

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