If I’m not mistaken, it is Thanksgiving for our friends in the north. For those celebrating, have a safe and happy holiday.
Thank you!
I’m living in Maryland now, having married my American love, and I decided to try my hand at a turkey dinner this weekend. I’m a new bride (only 5 months of married bliss so far), so I figured it was time to try and impress the in-laws with my kitchen skills. It didn’t quite go as planned, because I’ve never done this before - how in the world does my mom manage to have everything ready at the same time? The turkey was ready much too early and ended up drying out a little, and the gravy didn’t quite taste like my mom’s, despite my having her on the phone for half the morning while I asked her questions. Otherwise, everything was fabulous, so I guess this was the First Annual Canadian Thanksgiving at Antigen’s. Maybe next time I’ll try Alton Brown’s brining method.
I must say, I get tired of answering all the questions from well-meaning curious Americans, even though I know they’re asked in seriousness. What do you guys eat at Thanksgiving? Did you just take the idea from the Americans? What are you celebrating? Did you have starving pilgrims and the Native Americans showed them what to eat, like us? Why October?
I want to make small cards with all the answers and hand them out as the questions begin!
Happy Thanksgiving! Since even though I am Canadian born and bred I still don’t know all the answers, I guess I’ll have to refer any questions to Wikipedia :).
Wasn’t it tomorrow? I thought it was tomorrow and was planning on congratulating the Canadians on it…
goes off to look at the Wikipedia article Canadjun linked
OK, looks like my confusion affects whomever last worked on that article, too. It lists Canadian Thanksgiving as being “on the second Monday of October” and says it coincides with Columbus Day and with el Día de la Raza/Día de la Hispanidad… but this one is October 12th, unlike Columbus Day, and today is definitely not the 12th. If it was the 12th, I wouldn’t be at work. No moving la Hispanidad, at least in Spain, and whenever I’ve been in Latin America, including the USA, in October, they celebrated it on the 12th; I can’t promise there isn’t a place which moves it, though.
OK, so, Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, and thank you for fighting my ignorance!
Tell them that one of the first known European Thanksgivings was held in Newfoundland by Martin Frobisher, in 1578 (40 some years before the Plymouth Plantation Thanksgiving of 1621), and that French colonists held harvest Thanksgivings in the early 1600s, then ask how took the idea from whom. 
Of course, there’s no doubt that there’s a shared history - the turkey at Thanksgiving seems to have come north with the Loyalists.
I’m reasonably sure that when Rodrigo de Triana yelled “I see land!”, there was much giving of thanks in the caravels as well. No turkeys at hand, though…
I just had my favourite breakfast: white turkey meat on a crusty bun, with salt, pepper and mayo.
I love turkey. Er, Happy Thanksgiving! (We did our dinner on Sunday, so we’d have today to relax and eat leftovers. And make turkey soup! It’s kind of like Boxing Day.)
Happy Thanksgiving, eh? 
You know, it makes sense that our Thanksgiving is earlier than the US one… after all, it’s a harvest festival, and we’re further north and thus harvest is earlier!
Just finished my deep fried turkey with all the fixens.
Those are good questions - I guess you just have to try to patiently answer the same questions, over and over. I wouldn’t have a good answer for any of that, other than we have a turkey dinner and a day off of work, about a month and a half earlier than the US Thanksgiving Day, and I’m glad for it, because my birthday would be on Thanksgiving Day every seven years if I was born in the US.
Moving to MPSIMS at the request of the OP, and also because that’s where it really belongs.
All you Canajuns know, doncha, that there are always exactly 45 days between Canajun and Merkan Thanksgiving.
Thanks - and my apologies. I should know better…
Thanks! It was awesome, the weather was spectacular! We went to the beach for the day, not swimming or anything, but it was beautiful and warm and sunny. The turkey was perfection, company in from out of town, plus one last minute add in, sparkling dinner conversation, 4 kinds of pie, drop by guests - who brought more pie! Football then movie on the TV!
A complete success!
Getting in under the wire here—Happy Turkey Day to all you Canadians
Camped out on the beach a couple of lakes up the chain http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/6448/pa110988.jpg and
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/9334/pa110996.jpg
and went for a hike (my friend was a bit unsteady on her feet)
http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/5421/file3293.mp4
Hey, thanks!
Weather was beautiful here, and a friend arrived in town suggesting a game of golf. Not always possible this time of year, but the weather allowed it, so we did. No family gathering, as we’re pretty spread out, but that may come at Christmas. Still, it was a nice long weekend.