Holiday History
Canadian Thanksgiving vs Columbus Day: Choosing The Respectable Holiday
This year is another Clash of the Titans of October holidays. Once again, Canadian Thanksgiving and Columbus Day fall on the same day.
A brief history of the two:
Canadian Thanksgiving actually predates the 1st American Thanksgiving. An English explorer, Martin Frobisher, and his crew ate a nice dinner on their ship in 1578. They ate food with the intention of giving thanks, and this became the historical origin of the holiday.
Columbus landed in The Americas in 1492, not quite North America, but historians think that it’s close enough. The 1st Columbus Day was in New York in 1792, but Columbus Day didn’t become a federal holiday until 1937. It was long overdue for people to get a day off in October.
In 1606, The French celebrated a huge feast with the local Indigenous tribe, Mi’kmaq, where they ate cranberries. They avoided scurvy and set the yearly argument for which type of cranberry sauce is best: fresh or canned.
As Columbus Day was celebrated over the years, people thought — why are we doing this? We don’t think Columbus was that ethical. Can we not celebrate him and keep the day off? Soon people started to celebrate the day as Indigenous People’s Day.
Which do you celebrate? And which do you want to?
Canadian Thanksgiving: You’re getting together with family in your homeland.
Columbus Day: You’re getting together with others, to celebrate the beginning of the end of one culture in your homeland.
Canadian Thanksgiving: You’re north of the US border.
Columbus Day: You’re west of the Bahamas, where Columbus really landed.
Canadian Thanksgiving: You’ll be reminded of the good times with family & friends.
Columbus Day: You’ll be reminded of enslavement of family & friends.
Canadian Thanksgiving: You’re ok with a bit of a drive to get to your gathering.
Columbus Day: You’re ok with the genocide of people.
Canadian Thanksgiving: No statues to commemorate the day.
Columbus Day: Statues still up to commemorate the day, that shouldn’t exist. And are still trying to be replaced.
Canadian Thanksgiving: Everyone Celebrates!
Columbus Day: No one cares.
There’s only one respectable, Mid-October holiday.
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!
