Thanksgiving in Canada is a special day celebrated every year on the second Monday of October to honor all the previous year’s blessings and good harvest. It is a joyful occasion for all Canadians celebrating autumn with a family gathering and enjoying a meal together. Since November 6, 1879, Thanksgiving is declared a national holiday; many people, including working professionals, students, and workers, visit their family enjoying the weekend with close friends and relatives.
As this festival symbolizes the harvest celebration, churches and houses are decorated with pumpkins, wheat, corn, pecan nuts, and various bountiful harvest. Thanksgiving weekend is convivial and full of excitement. Canadians enjoy their holiday in several ways, like people singing thanksgiving hymns, houses twinkling with colorful lighting, family gathering, and a special feast for this occasion. Thanksgiving meals are abundant with a series of delicious food like roasted turkey, mashed potatoes with curry, sweet potatoes, various kinds of squashes, corn ears, and varied seasonal produce with a dessert course. Desserts include salmon, wild game, boiled dinner with split-pea pudding, butter tarts, and Nanaimo bars.
Moving along with time, the ways of celebrations got changed. Considering it as a national holiday, offices, school, business is shut down during the weekend. Traditionally, the celebrations varied according to different provinces like in New Brunswick; this particular day is the “day of rest,” which specifies the business shut down, while in Nova Scotia, it’s a retail holiday, meaning no retail business to be carried on this day. Besides celebrating it as a vacation, there are parades consisting of troupe performance, public figures broadcasted on CTV in Ontario. On the flip side for football lovers, they can enjoy the weekend by watching the Thanksgiving Day Classic matches. Thanksgiving can be a perfect time for autumn vacation and various outdoor activities like hiking, fishing, and sightseeing, thus exploring the autumn season’s vibrant colors.
With the increasing span of time, society and lifestyle changed, and so does the people’s way of celebration, gradually adapting to the latest trend. This year’s Thanksgiving falls on October 12 with a ray of festive feeling amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the economy suffered hugely, and companies are still coping with loss during this pandemic. However, due to financial issues, the Thanksgiving Day Classic matches, i.e., 2020 CFL (Canadian Football League) games, were canceled. Public health officials have warned citizens to have celebrated with proper safety precautions and keeping a small indoor gathering, particularly in areas with high COVID rates.
