Sunday 12 October 2008

Sunday October 12th, 2008 Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! We haven’t featured Thanksgiving as a topic for about 10 years so I think it’s about time to do it again. Ten years ago most of the sources quoted were book resources but now you can find pretty much everything using the Internet. So I thought that just for fun I’d redo the column from ten years ago and use both book and online sources.



What is the origin of Thanksgiving in Canada?

According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, this holiday draws upon 3 traditions: 1) European harvest celebrations, 2) formal observances such as the 1578 celebration for safe passage by Martin Frobisher in the eastern Arctic, and 3) the well-known first harvest celebration by the Pilgrims in Massachusetts in 1621. (see also: http://www.craigmarlatt.com/canada/symbols_facts&lists/thanksgiving.html).

Here are some other significant dates:

1763 – citizens of Halifax celebrate the end of the Seven Years’ War (The Canadian Encyclopedia )
1871 – a day of thanks is given for the restoration to health of the Prince of Wales (High Days and Holidays in Canada; according to the Canadian Heritage web site, this event is listed as taking place in 1872
1879 – Parliament declares a day of Thanksgiving on Nov. 6 (The Canadian Encyclopedia)
1957 – Parliament proclaims the second Monday in October as Thanksgiving Day (The Canadian Encyclopedia )

Where can I find Thanksgiving recipes, crafts and stories?

Check out books like Betty Crocker Complete Thanksgiving Cookbook, Thanksgiving Fun, and A Pioneer Thanksgiving. A simple subject search in our online catalogue for Thanksgiving will bring up a nice list of books, cd books, dvds, videos and e-books. Search Thanksgiving in Yahoo’s directory for good links to Internet resources.



Why do we eat turkey at Thanksgiving?

It’s commonly believed that turkey was consumed at the first American Thanksgiving in 1621. (Holidays of Legend). It is not known whether turkey was actually eaten during that feast but in the journal of Plymouth Colony's governor William Bradford he writes that he sent out four men to catch game and wild turkey did exist in the region at that time (Oxford Companion to Food).

Happy Turkey Day!

Sylvia Renaud, Head of Reference Services

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