Here’s to a wonderful—gratitude-filled—Thanksgiving weekend to those in the northern hemisphere.
Observed the second Monday in October, since 1957, the “harvest festival” is a time to show appreciation, not just for bountiful harvests, but all the things, friends and family, we have in our lives.
Quick history . . . Thanksgiving in Canada has actually been celebrated since 1879 but prior to 1957, it wasn’t on a given day and there was always a theme associated with it. Apparently, the first celebration was three hundred years prior, when Martin Frobisher—for those of you who remember your Canadian history classes—traveled from England in search of that elusive Northwest Passage (the sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, which is some 1,424,500 km and lies north of the Canadian mainland).
More days (feasts) of thanks took place, courtesy of French settlers who’d voyaged with Samuel de Champlain in the early seventeenth century. During and following the American Revolution, American immigrants who’d migrated to Canada brought along their Thanksgiving traditions and practices—like indulging in that delicious gobbler (sorry, my vegan friends) and sweet spicy pumpkin pie.
It is rather interesting, history, but I digress. The purpose of this post is short and sweet, Enjoy a fantastic (!) long weekend, delight in and appreciate all life has offered—and continues to offer. Never take anything, or anyone, for granted.
Have a gobbling good Thanksgiving!
The Writer's Grab-Bag 