I've been celebrating my own Thanksgiving for 20 years - as in, I've moved out of the house and I'm now responsible for making my own turkey. I've also celebrated two Thanksgivings every year for 17 years regardless of where we lived. So that means I've made a total of 37 turkeys that went with 37 everything you'd expect a Thanksgiving table to offer meal. Let's just say, I've got Thanksgiving down.
When we first moved to Canada, it took some getting used to having everyone be thankful in October. For 10 years it snuck up on me. It also took some getting used to having no one around us celebrating in November. Just another day here! I thought the only difference between the two holidays was the date but that was a rookie mistake. I finally clued into a few distinctions that made each one unique.
1. October is actually a smart month to have it in. It's at the peak of fall, looks like fall, you can still buy food at the farmers' market and (this is important) you can take a nice long walk after you've stuffed yourselves. November = cold and snow. The pumpkins are frozen.
2. The Pilgrims are missing. That's right. No Pilgrims, no Indians. I'm sorry - make that Aboriginals (here in Canada). There's really no history attached to Canadian Thanksgiving. There's no story. No Charlie Brown video. It's just about the thanks here. Passionate, unadulterated, secular thanks (unless you go to church and religious it up yourself).
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| picking pumpkins |
3. You can celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada anytime during your weekend and it's just as valid. Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Just be aware that on Monday stores are shut down so if you forgot to buy the cranberry in a can, you're out of luck. Should have had your dinner on Saturday. November Thanksgiving must be celebrated on Thursday. But don't worry about forgetting a crucial ingredient to your meal because the stores seem to be opening up earlier and earlier to beat the Black Friday rush. Does Kohl's sell cranberry in a can? If they do, you can bet it'll be on sale!
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| Farmer's Market! |
4. There's really no Black Friday in Canada. Oh, they try! But you can't mimic the anxiety of Christmas being only a month away. We've still got 2 1/2 months here. We're good!
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| Reading special just for fall books |
5. Yes, the food is pretty much the same. Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, squash, pumpkin pie. You may have some regional, traditional dishes added like tourtiere but it's the same. Except the green bean casserole is missing in October. I don't know why this recipe didn't make it across the border. The Campbell's soup company seemed to drop the ball on that one. But anytime I make it I get rave reviews and a request for the recipe. It's sort of embarrassing!
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| Nature Walk |
6. Macy's Day Parade, afternoon football game, the first viewing of "A Muppet Christmas Carol" - November. OK, maybe just the first two for most homes. But all three help to make the mood in November for me in my home when no one else around us is celebrating. Bonus - we still get mail that day! (not a holiday here, you with me?)
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| Decorating leaf cookies! |
It's not such a bad deal celebrating two Thanksgivings every year. After all, can you ever be too thankful? And as far as my family is concerned, you can never have too much turkey.
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