So , not wanting to show my tremendous ignorance about Thanksgiving, I decided to do some research. Wow! Did I learn a few things.
Thanksgiving has a very long history. It's gone through many changes, but the basic sentiments are still there.
Our Thanksgiving originates from European harvest festivals. Since most of the population at that time were farmers, they were very thankful for a good crop and once it was harvested they celebrated. I would guess that the harvest festival goes much further than Europeans.
The first North American Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Arctic explorer, Martin Frobisher somewhere around Baffin Island.
Canadians drew upon their European roots for Thanksgiving celebrations. Dates of celebration were different in each region. The dates also change. In 1957 the Canadian government set Thanksgiving to be noted on the second Monday of October. Since that time Thanksgiving has become commercialized and has very little to do with being thankful for a good crop. We are making an effort to stop and note what we are thankful for. Churches do celebrate Thanksgiving.
Why the difference in dates between Canadian and American dates? Probably our harvest is complete before the American harvest. Our weather deteriorates earlier so we set the date earlier so that we have better weather for activities.
Today we had a high of 20 C (69 F) so it's very pleasant. So yes, I'm thankful for very pleasant weather. Many times it can be very unpleasant with cold and snow.
I am thankful for many things on a personal level. However, I would like to be thankful for many changes around the world but that doesn't seem to be happening. We have a major refugee problem which only seems to be getting worse.
So folks, have a very Happy Thanksgiving.
