[USMA:35222] Re: Thanksgiving, recipe metrication

[Kent K. Steinbrenner]

Actually, it's the month before, in October. Thanksgiving Day in Canada is held on the same day as Columbus Day is observed in the U.S.—that is, the second Monday in October.

Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday in Canada in 1879, with November 6th being the date celebrated. In subsequent years, many dates were used for Thanksgivin g—the most popular being the 3rd Monday in October (Parliament set the date annually, so it varied). After World War I, both Armistice Day and Thanksgiving were celebrated on the Monday of the week in which November 11th occurred. Ten years later, in 1931, the two days became separate holidays (Thanksgiving returning to its usual October date) and Armistice Day was renamed Remembrance Day. In 1957, Parliament voted to make it a recurring holiday each year.

I suspect the earlier date also makes sense from a harvest-time perspective; certainly in much of Canada, wintry weather would arrive earlier than in most parts of the U.S. So that probably played a part in setting the current date.

—Kent