Thanksgiving is just a few days away! Oct 14th!
Families and friends like yours will gather to give thanks and *gobble* down a delicious meal sometime this weekend and here is some trivia to share around the dinner table:
Canada did Thanksgiving before the United States of America. The first Thanksgiving feast in the U.S. was held in 1621, English navigator Martin Frobisher held a celebration of thanks in 1578 in what is now Newfoundland as he had survived the long journey over the seas. However, we didn't start officially celebrating Thanksgiving as it is until November 6, 1879.
We didn't settle on a final day until 1957. Parliament made the second Monday in October the official date.
Not all Canadians get the day off for the holiday. For instance, Atlantic Canada considers it an optional holiday.
While it is widely believed eating turkey makes you sleepy, many experts believe it is actually the carbohydrates that are part of the Thanksgiving meal that causes you to feel tired.
Of all the options for food, why is Turkey synonymous with Thanksgiving? According to a Slate article: "They were fresh, affordable, and big enough to feed a crowd."
Turkey and cranberry sauce weren't on the original Thanksgiving table, but you might be surprised to learn pumpkin pie was. There are pumpkin pie recipes that date back to the 1650s.
Cranberries are a big part of Thanksgiving meals, and we have the Algonquin natives to thank for it. They were the first to harvest wild cranberries and use them for food.
The tradition of breaking the wishbone actually goes all the way back to the Etruscans in 322 BCE. The Romans brought it to England who later brought it to Canada.
Info from:
www.modernmississauga.com
list25.com
How did we get Thanksgiving and turkeys? | Articles | CBC Kids