Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

Since the beginning of the Thanksgiving holiday, its date has moved several times—from mid-week in April to a Thursday in November—until 1957, when the Canadian government officially declared that Thanksgiving would occur on the second Monday in October. This ensured that Thanksgiving and another Canadian holiday, Remembrance Day (November 11), would no longer overlap.

Everyone seems to know the story of the first American Thanksgiving in 1621, but do you know how Canadian Thanksgiving came about? In fact, the first Canadian Thanksgiving may have even pre-dated the Pilgrims’ big meal.

Canadian Thanksgiving was initially less about celebrating the harvest and more about thanking God for keeping early explorers safe as they ventured into the New World.

In that sense of “thanks-giving,” the earliest report of such a dinner dates back to 1578 when English explorer Martin Frobisher and his crew held a special meal to thank God for granting them safe passage through northern North America into what is today the Canadian Territory of Nunavut. 

Today, the tradition of Thanksgiving has come full circle, as a time to gather the family, mark the start of autumn, celebrate good food, stunning Canadian landscapes and of course beautiful flowers placed in the centre of your harvest table.