Canadian Thanksgiving celebrates a bountiful harvest. The holiday falls on the second Monday of October. Basically a good excuse to have a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. And although many families get together to celebrate Thanksgiving it isn't nearly as big a holiday in Canada as it is in the US.

Ann

As Ann mentions the holiday is in celebration of the harvest. Mind you most farmers are still so busy on the land they don't get much of a holiday!

It is traditional for families to get together ,if close by, but few do the traveling you see in the States. Thanksgiving is a much quieter holiday here, our biggie is Christmas.

Food tends to be very similar to yours, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, various squash dishes, cauliflower, even the dreaded green been casserole and course pumpkin pie! One good thing about having it so much earlier than you, we can do the same meals all over again for Christmas!!!

I really can't think of too much different other than the origin.

Hi Pam:
I think that Canadian TG is more low-key. There is not the big shopping/sales or football connection that there is in the states. Food seems to be pretty much the same fare. My boss's wife is American and we are always invited for Thanksgiving dinner at their house on the U.S. date. Not too helpful, was I?
Jane

Hi Jane, nice to see you again.

You all have been helpful because now I know it's pretty much the same thing without pilgrims, travel or (American) football.

My boss was annoyed (jokingly)with us for missing Canada Day, which we had never even heard of.

She always brings Canadian candy back from Toronoto. Did you know that Rockets are called Smartees in the US? As far as I can tell, they are the same thing.

Pam, what are Rockets? We have both Smarties and M & M's in Canada but I've never heard of Rockets. I prefer M & M's over Smarties.

Ann

Rockets are exactly the same thing as Smarties. Boss says that's what they call them in Canada. I am also sitting here eating something called Nestle's Coffee Crisp that she brought back from Toronto and I have never seen in the US.

Pam

Here is a link that might be useful: Rockets

Oops. Looks like we have Coffee Crisps now. They are good!

Here is a link that might be useful: crossing the border

LOL Smarties are like M&M's in Canada, Smarties in the US are a coated sweet tart. So I guess in Cananda they are Rockets...learn something new everyday...

Oh, I never heard of any other name for M&M's than M&M's. They melt in your mouth, not in your hand. They are multi-colored and dance in the commercials.

I agree -- learn something new every day!

Our Thanksgiving day is on Monday the 13th, here in Canada, I do agree with dedtired, it is a little bit more low keyed then the American Thanksgiving.

Pam your right about the pilgrims and travel BUT the fellows are always glued to the set watching American football !! LOL

(although Thanksgiving is on Monday we always have our meal on Sunday...as do most people I know)

Rockets are exactly the same thing as Smarties.

Smarties are candy-coated milk chocolates.

Rockets are candy rolls.. all sugar. There's only available during Hallowe'en time. I've been eating them like they're going out of style!! Too addictive for me.

My cousin in Florida can buy Smarties at a "specialty food store" but pays $2.50 for a small box. Here, we pay $1 so I send her a bunch every now and then.

Although M&M candies are like Smarties (candy-coated milk chocolate or peanuts), their candy coating is thicker than Smarties. For this reason, I prefer the Smarties.

Rockets

{{!gwi}}

Smarties

{{!gwi}}

Ooh no..Rockets are not Smarties..Smarties are Smarties here also.Rockets are like sour tarts (But small small w/ an indentation in the middle) :)
Can you tell I used to love them?

We have turkey..trimmings very similar to USA.. but not the same date and no gifts/ shopping..

Rarely do we have marshmallows on yams? Sweet potato pie.. etc.. but the rest is pretty much the same..

American Smarties:

Canadian Rockets:

Canadian Smarties:

Okay? Are we all on the same page now?? Funny.

Hi dedtired,
This isn't a "funny" Canadian tradition, but I'm sure your Canadian boss would enjoy a nice Canadian bottle of pinot noir from Niagara region:)

It a Turkey Dinner and better yet its A DAY OFF FROM WORK. Not that big of a deal here, but we are Thankful for everything. Diana55 ( A Proud Canadian)

Dedtired - Thanks for the pics! Yep, we're on the same page now LOL

On my side of the family, Thanksgiving was not a family celebration. Some years we got together for a meal, and some years we didn't. We were, however, grateful for all we had. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it's also moose hunting season. My dad was a hunter and always went moose hunting.

On my DH's side of the family, it's a MUST. They celebrate Thanksgiving more than Christmas.

Canadian wine -- that's an excellent idea for a gift. I'll have to see if I can find it in Pennsylvania's archaic state liquor stores.

Yeah -- a day off. I could use one of those. A lot of people get Columbus Day this Monday in the US, but not us. Hospitals close for nothing, although I get plenty of PTO.

Oh the poor moose. Now if the men would like to come to PA and shoot some white tail deer, that would be more than fine with me.

Pam if you really , really want to give her a surprise from home try and find a Niagara Ice Wine...now that is beyond special and very, very Canadian.

......but if you do find it you probably will want to buy the small bottle...they don't call it liquid gold for nothing! LOL

Did you know that it's harder for Canadians to purchase certain Canadian wines because they keep most of the stock to sell internationally.

Someone in the U.S. has a better chance of ordering it online than someone living in Manitoba!

Something to do with wanting to "expand" their market.

Yikes. I just looked up the cost of ice wine. I don't think she'll be getting that. It was interesting to read about it on Wikipedia. I had no idea how it is made.

LOL....Pam !!!! We can get it here for a better price than you can but still not by ant means cheap.

As a matter of fact Clive and I took a day trip to Niagara Wine Country two Sundays ago. We only went to the small, private vineyards and were able to get an amazing ice wine for a fairly good price.

Hope you have a chance to try it someday, it's quite special.