Originally Posted by
coopah
It's basically the same celebration as in America, according to DH, but we don't know why it is earlier. My DH grew up in BC and says they're just trying to beat the snow. HA! HA! Actually, I think it's smart...because cooking a humonguous dinner in November and again in December is just nuts. IMO
Our climate is colder thus our growing season is shorter. We reap the bounty of our harvest in October! Thus an October date.
'The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving are more closely connected to the traditions of Europe than of the United States. Long before Europeans settled in North America, festivals of thanks and
celebrations of harvest took place in Europe in the month of October. The very first Thanksgiving celebration in North America took place in Canada when
Martin Frobisher, an explorer from
England, arrived in Newfoundland in 1578. He wanted to give thanks for his safe arrival to the New World. That means the first Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated 43 years before the pilgrims landed in Plymouth,
Massachusetts!'
Quote from a web site called kidzworld.com