# Thanksgiving

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving/356363>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [May 11, 2006, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving/356363 "2006-05-11T13:29:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![cabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@cabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cabdude)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving/356363/1 "2006-05-11T13:29:17Z")

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Do Canadians celebrate thanksgiving? I didn’t think they would but then I read somewhere that that do, and now I’m confused. Why do they celebrate thanksgiving?

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**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving/356363/2 "2006-05-11T13:30:48Z")

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> [@cabdude](#):
>
> Do Canadians celebrate thanksgiving? I didn’t think they would but then I read somewhere that that do, and now I’m confused. Why do they celebrate thanksgiving?

Yes, and for basically the same reason as Americans, but a month earlier (in October).

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**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving/356363/3 "2006-05-11T13:38:00Z")

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From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Thanksgiving#Thanksgiving_in_Canada):

Thanksgiving in Canada

Canadians trace the holiday to a feast held by Martin Frobisher in Newfoundland in 1578.

The first Thanksgiving Day in Canada after Confederation was observed on April 5, 1872 to celebrate the recovery of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) from a serious illness. Before then, thanksgiving days were observed beginning in 1799 but did not occur every year. Starting in 1879 Thanksgiving Day was observed every year but the date was proclaimed annually and changed year to year. The theme of the Thanksgiving holiday also changed year to year to reflect an important event to be thankful for. In the early years it was for an abundant harvest and occasionally for a special anniversary. After the first world war it was for Armistace Day and more recently and including today it’s been a day of general thanksgiving. In 1957, it was proclaimed by the Government of Canada to be observed on the second Monday in October for every year thereafter. Thanksgiving is a national holiday in Canada.

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**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving/356363/4 "2006-05-11T14:07:12Z")

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Rasa’s got it there, but I’ll add my Canadian perspective: there are fewer sweet-potato-and-marshmallow concoctions on the table.