Why are Canadian and American Thanksgivings on different days?

Canada and their neighbours to the south celebrate most of their occasions on the same date. Christmas, New Years, and even their birthdays are pretty close (Canada celebrating it on July 1st and the United States celebrating it on July 4th). The question which puzzles many is why Thanksgiving celebration dates differ between the two countries.

The most obvious reason is the geographical location of Canada as compared to America. Canada is further north with respect to the position of the United States. This dictates that the harvesting season arrives earlier in Canada as compared to the United States. Thanksgiving is the day on which thanks is given (traditionally to the “Lord”) for a bountiful harvest of our crops and for life in general.

The winter in Canada arrives earlier as well. Many people might think that the winter arriving early does not warrant an earlier Thanksgiving but it is for the bountiful harvest of crops before the winter and a general celebration of life which warrants the thanksgiving day.

History of Canadian Thanksgiving:

If you look into the history of Canadian Thanksgiving, you would find that Canada has celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday for quite some time as compared to the United States.

The history books tell us that Canada first started celebrating Thanksgiving in 1578 beginning in Newfoundland. The tradition of Thanksgiving was started by explorer Martin Frobisher as a mark of thanks for successfully surviving the journey from Europe to Canada.

The American holiday of Thanksgiving began in 1621, that is 43 years later.

Thanksgiving day has shifted a number of times and it was actually very unstable over the first few centuries.

In 1899, it was in November and then it was shifted to a Thursday in October.

Then from 1908 to 1921, it was again moved and scheduled on a Monday in October.

The current day for Thanksgiving was fixed by the Canadian Parliament in 1957 and is now on the second Monday of October and it has remained on this day ever since.

This also marks the last long weekend of the season. Thus this day is perfect for thanksgiving in Canada.

So, if you were ever a bit confused about the different Thanksgiving days for Canada and the United States, now at least you know the reason why it is so and a bit of the history behind it.

Happy Thanksgiving from Awesome Canada!