Some of the closest friends I have made since I arrived in Wollongong have been Canadians uni students - yes I realize I’m in Australia and not Canada. So when I was invited to a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner – I thought my friends were joking. Little did I know that they do celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada – just a month earlier than we do in States. 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 Canada. 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. Thanks to Wikipendia for the background info.
We had a great meal of ham and chicken (too hot to cook a turkey) at Kelly S’s apartment. I must say I did miss watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and football (the American kind aka gridiron in Oz) on the telly and getting up at 4am to go Christmas shopping with my mom on Black Friday.
I forgot to take picture at the turkey day celebration so I have included some from later on that week after a night of trivia and drinks at the North ‘Gong Pub.
|  | 
|
