The History of Thanksgiving in Canada

Canadians trace the holiday to a feast held by Martin Frobisher in Newfoundland in 1578. It is also probable that American loyalists who emigrated to Canada after American independence brought with them many of their Thanksgiving traditions.

The Thanksgiving celebration was held occasionally in English areas of British North America in the eighteenth century, especially in Nova Scotia. The holiday rose to much greater prominence with the arrival of the United Empire Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution. The holiday became entrenched in English Canadian society. In 1879 Canada's parliament declared Thanksgiving to be a national secular holiday. This date was moved several times, finally being set on its current date in 1957.

Thanksgiving Dinner (Part 5)

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Thanksgiving".