Today is the 2nd Monday of October. For most of the world, it is just another day, but for the majority of North Americans, the day is important.
If you live in the United States, you are celebrating Columbus. But right above the USA, the citizens of Canada are celebrating Thanksgiving Day!
The very first Thanksgiving celebration in North America took place in Canada when the English explorer Martin Frobisher, arrived in Newfoundland in 1578. He wanted to give thanks for his safe arrival to the New World. This means the first Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated 43 years before the pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts!
Thanksgiving for Canadians is about giving thanks for the harvest season rather than the arrival of pilgrims. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving with parades, family gatherings, pumpkin pie and a lot of turkey!
Columbus Day is a holiday in honor of the explorer, Christopher Columbus, who first came to the New World on October 12, 1492. Since 1920, Columbus Day has been an annual holiday.
Actually, Columbus wasn’t the first person to visit America so some people call the holiday Native American Day or Indigenous Peoples Day since Native Americans lived in North America long before Columbus came along.
Columbus Day is usually a day to kick back and watch a parade or just enjoy some family time on a well-deserved day off….but no parade today!
So…no playing, but we certainly can enjoy the beauty of the fall colors.
Clay has been in Canada many times. He has brought some of his tours to parts of Canada and he has been on some TV shows too.
I found two fun videos. The first one is Clay on TV in Canada. In the second video, Clay is giving advice to the Canadian Idols. It is fun to see.
I hope you will enjoy the videos and have a special holiday.
