The first thanksgiving proclamation on record for Canada took place in
Lower Canada in 1799. Then, colonists observed a day of thanks for
“signal victory over our enemy and for the manifold and inestimable
blessings which our Kingdoms and Provinces have received and daily
continue to receive.” All nine of the recorded thanksgivings in Lower
Canada were equal parts political and religious in nature, with two no-
table exceptions. On 6 February 1833, Lower Canada gave thanks for
an end to cholera, while on 4 November 1834, the people celebrated
the end of ships’ quarantine on Grosse Isle.
There are four Thanksgivings on record for Upper Canada. One, held
on 18 June,1816 was to celebrate the end of war between France and
Great Britain, while the remaining three were “to continueGod’s mercies.”
The first mention a harvest celebration appeared in 1859 when, on 3
November, the Province of Canada gave thanks “for an abundant har-
vest and continuation of Peace [sic].” After Confederation, Canadian
Thanksgivings were largely harvest celebrations and, until 1899, all
were held on a Thursday in November. In 1899, the date was changed
to a Thursday in October.
In 1903, Thanksgiving was moved to a Monday although the exact date
was appointed by proclamation. Then, in 1921, Thanksgiving was moved
toArmisticeDay. A fixed holiday, ArmisticeDaywas observed on theMon-
day of the week of 11 November. When Armistice Day was renamed Re-
membrance Day andmoved to 11November itself, Thanksgiving reverted
back to aMonday in October—the secondMonday, in fact.
It’s impossible to know exactly what Frobisher and his crew ate for that
first Thanksgiving meal, but it certainly wasn’t turkey. Turkeys are indige-
nous to North America, and though wild turkeys are good to eat, they’re
unlikely to have been present on Baffin Island or coastal Newfoundland
when Frobisher arrived tired, hungry, and thankful.
Turkeys were first domesticated some 2000 years ago by the Aztecs in
Mexico and the Mayans in Central America. Raised for their meat and
eggs, turkeys were an important source of protein, and they fulfilled other
cultural needs as their feathers were used for decoration.
Domestic turkeys were taken to Spain between 1500 and 1519 where
they soon spread across Europe and developed into many different va-
rieties. In the early 17
th
century, turkeys were brought back to North
America by English, French, and Dutch colonists where they again flour-
ished and diversified.
*
BY C. RACHEL KATZ
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE
CANADIAN THANKSGIVING TRADITION
53
Harvest & Holiday 2013
Escarpment Magazine
Harvest
