# Happy Thanksgiving, Canada! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 10, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585 "2005-10-10T16:15:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![IrreverentTone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@IrreverentTone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IrreverentTone)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/1 "2005-10-10T16:15:39Z")
I hope that your celebrations are peaceful and tasty. We need details… ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/2 "2005-10-10T16:20:21Z")
What do Canadians feast on? I gather turkey cause I’ve already read Canadian doper posts about turkey shopping. What else? Is there giblet gravy? In the USA, it’s all about the gravy. If the gravy ain’t right, then toss out the whole meal. ---
**Author:** ![Emeria](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@Emeria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emeria)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/3 "2005-10-10T16:53:49Z")
well, I don’t know if this would hold true across every house in Canada, but we had turkey, dressing (stuffing), gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots, peas … and chocolate cake for dessert. Pretty standard stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/4 "2005-10-10T17:11:24Z")
Wishing our friends to the north a safe and happy holiday. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ladydisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@ladydisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladydisco)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/5 "2005-10-10T17:27:26Z")
> [@swampbear](#): > > What do Canadians feast on? I gather turkey cause I’ve already read Canadian doper posts about turkey shopping. What else? Is there giblet gravy? In the USA, it’s all about the gravy. If the gravy ain’t right, then toss out the whole meal. Hell yes! Gravy is very important to the turkey dinner, especially if the turkey is too dry. \8 glasses a day.\ ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/6 "2005-10-10T17:39:24Z")
Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts (gotta have the Brussels sprouts with turkey), probably another vegetable or two (I’m not in charge of the vegetables this year), cranberry sauce, gravy, and crusty buns. Pumpkin pie for dessert. I’m in charge of turkey, stuffing, Brussels sprouts and buns. Those Butterball pre-stuffed turkeys? Bless 'em! ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/7 "2005-10-10T18:05:15Z")
Hmmm… so far it’s the same kinda stuff as in the US. Of course, I ain’t eatin’ brussels sprouts AKA fart blossoms nohow, noway, nuh-uh, never! I prefer sweet potato pie over pumpkin pie too. Now I want Thanksgiving dinner! I gotta wait over a month for it. No fair! I was wondering if there were any kind of uniquely Canadian foodstuffs. I don’t know what I was expecting. Maybe moosemeat pie? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/8 "2005-10-10T19:42:23Z")
My wife’s family is all from the Great White North, so we get to celebrate Thanksgiving twice a year! Tonight’s menu: turkey with cornbread stuffing (we’re in the south, after all), gravy, mashed potatoes, some kind of cranberry salad and a green vegetable to be named later (my sister-in-law is brining it). For dessert, a pumpkin pie and a caramel/apple pie. We wanted apple/mince pie, but the grocery stores around here don’t carry mince for a few more weeks ☹ ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/9 "2005-10-10T20:03:19Z")
I’m with Skammer, we celebrate twice in my house too. Though I don’t have a spouse of another land. We figure we have just that much to be thankful for. Oh, and we like turkey 😃 . And because it’s not Amerikan Thanksgiving there is no special TV programming or parade to pre empt you favorite Monday night TV. Y’know, CSI or football, choose your poison 😛 . We will be having our bird in just a couple of hours. The house is filled with the loveliest aroma at the moment. My friend M is coming and, because it worked out so well last year, we’re all going to be in our pj’s. I know, you’re thinking, geeze and I didn’t think a large turkey feast COULD be improved upon. You, stand corrected 😉 . ---
**Author:** ![marque\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@marque\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marque_elf)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/10 "2005-10-10T21:26:46Z")
I’ve always wondered about the genesis of Canadian Thanksgiving day. Not that Canadians don’t have thinks to be thankful, Number 1 on the list has to be that there not Americans :rolleyes: for one. The American version had it’s genesis in the Civil War when Lincoln suggested a national day of Thanksgiving in November of 1863. What he had in mind was more like a national day of prayer, not feasting. The Thanksgiving meal tradition and the day chosen didn’t happen until the 20th century. What sparked the creation of the Canadian holiday and why was October 10th chosen for it? Or does it move around in October like the American version, which is aways the 4th Thursday in November? ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/11 "2005-10-10T22:02:17Z")
My turkey is nearly done. Stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie (in a gingersnap crumb crust), cranberry sauce. Some kinda veg. If I were at home, I’d make the Purple Stuff as well, but nobody but me eats it around our house. Stupid American husband. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/12 "2005-10-10T22:09:33Z")
What’s the Purple Stuff? Our house smells like TURKEY! Yum. I’m unsure of the Baloney Content of the following histories: > [@](#): > > In Canada Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. Unlike the American tradition of remembering Pilgrims and settling in the New World, Canadians give thanks for a successful harvest. The harvest season falls earlier in Canada compared to the United States due to the simple fact that Canada is further north. > > The history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an English explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Orient. He did not succeed but he did establish a settlement in Northern America. In the year 1578, he held a formal ceremony, in what is now called Newfoundland, to give thanks for surviving the long journey. This is considered the first Canadian Thanksgiving. Other settlers arrived and continued these ceremonies. He was later knighted and had an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean in northern Canada named after him - Frobisher Bay. > > At the same time, French settlers, having crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain, also held huge feasts of thanks. They even formed ‘The Order of Good Cheer’ and gladly shared their food with their Indian neighbours. > > After the Seven Year’s War ended in 1763, the citizens of Halifax held a special day of Thanksgiving. > > During the American Revolution, Americans who remained loyal to England moved to Canada where they brought the customs and practices of the American Thanksgiving to Canada. There are many similarities between the two Thanksgivings such as the cornucopia and the pumpkin pie. > > Eventually in 1879, Parliament declared November 6th a day of Thanksgiving and a national holiday. Over the years many dates were used for Thanksgiving, the most popular was the 3rd Monday in October. After World War I, both Armistice Day and Thanksgiving were celebrated on the Monday of the week in which November 11th occurred. Ten years later, in 1931, the two days became separate holidays and Armistice Day was renamed Remembrance Day. > > Finally, on January 31st, 1957, Parliament proclaimed… > > "A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed … to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October. > [@](#): > > The original concept of Canadian Thanksgiving is traced to an old European farming custom in which farmers were known to band together to toast a plentiful harvest. The first known Thanksgiving celebration on Canadian shores was hosted by a European explorer named Martin Frobisher who enjoyed an impromptu harvest feast upon washing his ship ashore in Newfoundland around 1578. Frobisher famously gave thanks not only for the delicious feast he was enjoying, but also for his and his crew’s good fortune at having avoided the many dangers found on the high seas. The third, much noted aspect of Canadian Thanksgiving’s origin, is attributed to the many Loyalists (Americans who remained faithful to England) who moved north to make a new home in Canada. Loyalists brought with them many American Thanksgiving traditions that were adopted into the Canadian holiday. > [@](#): > > The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving are more closely connected to the traditions of Europe than of the United States. Long before Europeans settled in North America, festivals of thanks and celebrations of harvest took place in Europe in the month of October. The very first Thanksgiving celebration in North America took place in Canada when Martin Frobisher, an explorer from England, arrived in Newfoundland in 1578. He wanted to give thanks for his safe arrival to the New World. That means the first Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated 43 years before the pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts! 1. [http://www.twilightbridge.com/hobbies/festivals/thanksgiving/canada/](http://www.twilightbridge.com/hobbies/festivals/thanksgiving/canada/) 2. [http://allrecipes.com/advice/coll/all/articles/518P1.asp](http://allrecipes.com/advice/coll/all/articles/518P1.asp) 3. [http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p2614.htm](http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p2614.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/13 "2005-10-10T22:14:00Z")
My recollection is that our Thanksgiving has its roots in harvest festivals - grain in the bin and all that. It’s always the second Monday in October - so it’s always a long weekend. What’s the point of having a holiday on a Thursday??? then you go to work the next day, then have a weekend? that’s crazy talk… My dad’s coming over for dinner in half an hour to have dinner with Mrs. Piper and me. Appéritif: rye and seven. Main course: turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, beets, baked ginger carrots, served with a McWilliams chardonnay. Dessert: pumpkin pie and whipped cream; coffee. ---
**Author:** ![marque\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@marque\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marque_elf)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/14 "2005-10-10T22:29:12Z")
Thanks for the history lesson **Savannah** and **Northern Piper**. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/15 "2005-10-10T22:36:32Z")
> [@Savannah](#): > > What’s the Purple Stuff? It’s a Danish dish that my mom always makes when she makes turkey. It’s shredded red cabbage cooked with butter, sugar, and vinegar. It goes really really well with chicken and turkey. ---
**Author:** ![Canadiangirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Canadiangirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadiangirl)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/16 "2005-10-10T23:09:49Z")
Ham baked with maple syrup…scalloped potatoes with cheese, steamed carrots, pumkin pie with freshly whipped cream and tea. ---
**Author:** ![IrreverentTone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@IrreverentTone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IrreverentTone)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/17 "2005-10-10T23:14:14Z")
Eveything sounds so yummy. **Ginger** , would you mind sharing your Purple Stuff recipe? I’m looking for some new recipes for next month and P.S. sounds tasty. **Skammer** , my mom always buys extra mincemeat at Christmastime so she has it available, not that that handy tip helps for this year. **Emeria** , chocolate cake for dessert sounds really good to me since I don’t eat pumpkin pie. I love to make it, though. Any chance of a baked ginger carrot recipe, **Northern Piper**? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/18 "2005-10-11T01:59:17Z")
A Fall Hike Along Mink Creek Thanksgiving weekend once again found me out in the Coldwell area of the north shore of Superior. Last Thanksgiving, Karen Smith and I paddled out from Al and Lucy Mitchell’s cabin in Coldwell Harbour to some islands off of the Coldwell Penninsula. Earlier this summer, Wilderness Mama and Wilderness Papa advised me to walk in to Mink Creek Falls, just off of the highway, slightly east of Coldwell Harbour. I gladly took them up on their advice, and visited the falls a couple of times since then. This weekend, though, a fierce bout of next-bent-itis set in. Recent rain and snow had left Mink Creek at bank-full, with the falls pounding, and mist forming ice on the surrounding vegetation. To make a long story short, I followed the river downstream, rather than just observing the falls. The hike was short, but tremendously enjoyable. The creek was a pushy little thing, offering not-so-clean routes if one were to paddle it. There were three more waterfalls along the way, though none so impressive as the first. The path along river right gradually petered out, but not before it found its way across a very steep gully. At this point, the path was about twenty-five feet above the river, and I was concerned that it might be undercut, so I took great care. Eventually the river quieted down onto a small flood plain. I wanted to look at Superior, so rather than hiking out along the river to the lake, I started working my way up the hill on the east side of the river. It was fairly steep in places, but did not require ropes. After an ascent of about four-hundred and fifty feet, some of which was hand and toe, I topped out on some bare rock that held an inspiring view of Superior’s Mink Harbour. To the west I could see the Coldwell Pennisula and Detention Island. To the east I could see Marathon. Far to the south-east I could see the long coastline of Pukaskwa gradually disappearing into the horizon. For the return trek, I did not want to chance the steep part of the quasi-path along the river, so I descended back down to the flood plain, but then instead of following side of the river, I followed the valley wall higher up along scree terraces. That meant a lot more scrambling up and down when moving from one terrace to the next, but it kept me clear of the section by the river that had worried me. I only hiked for a couple of hours, covering a linear distance of only a couple of kilometers, but by the end I was quite exhausted, and pouring with perspiration despite it being a cool day and my being in the shade. Given all the ups and downs scrambling, I estimate that I put in about twelve-hundred feet vertical. The forest was mostly birch, with bright yellow leaves. There were occasional Moutain Ash, and a fair bit of bear scat laced with berries. There was not much of an under story, but ferns were plentiful on the ground, and lichens were well established on the faces of exposed rock. For much of the way, I could hear the lighter sounds of the smaller falls enveloped by the bass rumblings of the primary falls. It was a very lovely place to be. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/19 "2005-10-11T03:52:58Z")
My two cousins, my brother, and I all gathered in my mum’s bedroom and watched Seinfeld, and laughed until we cried, until dinner was ready. There was more laughter, and teasing, and lots of jokes and great conversation during the dinner. We ate in the dining room, with the crystal and silverware out. Mum made this little centerpiece with pumpkins and candles and fall leaves, it was cute (very Martha Stewart ;)). Turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots, cauliflower au gratin–savory, sweet, delicious–and hot apple pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Afterwards we chatted over steaming mugs of tea, relaxing in the living room. It was absolutely perfect, I’m warm and stuffed full and cozy now. If I could, I’d take a bit of this feeling out and post it on the boards for all of you to experience. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585/20 "2005-10-11T03:56:53Z")
Got Chinese food with the girlfriend. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-thanksgiving-canada/325585.md?page=2)