American Thanksgiving vs. Canadian Thanksgiving

Published in The Packet

I celebrated Thanksgiving with some American ex-pats living in Newfoundland, last week. I was asked if I prefer the American Thanksgiving to the Canadian Thanksgiving. As long as I get some pie, I’m thrilled with both. Here’s why:

I like the way it still looks like fall when its time to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving. Is there anything more glorious than October in Canada? I don’t mind traveling long distances to be with friends and family, when the trip is made so beautiful by the surrounding foliage.

I also appreciate Canadian Thanksgiving’s flexibility. Have your meal on Monday, but if that’s not convenient you can have it on Sunday. Or skip it since the whole celebration is optional here in Atlantic Canada. If you’re not a fan of turkey and you want to chill out alone in bed slurping Ramen noodles, more power to you.

I feel that celebrating Thanksgiving in October gives me permission to start celebrating Christmas earlier than I would in the United States. I can start listening to my Christmas music without getting stink eye from the “respect the turkey folks” in the U.S., who believe it is sacrilegious to put up a Christmas tree before the turkey comes out of the oven. When I eat the last bite of my American Thanksgiving meal, a starting pistol goes off for the Christmas season. The mad scramble of shopping, decorating, and event planning overwhelms me. I hate to feel rushed. With Thanksgiving in October, I have space to breathe before the rush and merriment of the Christmas season begins.

Lastly, Canadian Thanksgiving isn’t laced with guilt.  The meal is simply a harvest celebration, not a marker of the life-saving cross-cultural feast that eventually devolved into Native American genocide. Gorging yourself doesn’t seem to be the norm here in Canada, so I don’t feel guilty about the ridiculous excess of calories taken in at Thanksgiving. This year, my guilt surrounding American Thanksgiving is ratcheted up even further when I think of the number of people who have to work on what is supposed to be a national holiday, so that 33 million shoppers gain access to the Thanksgiving sales even earlier.

Which paradoxically brings me to something I love about American Thanksgiving- Thanksgiving Sales! It may sound sad, but one of my fondest Thanksgiving memories is my husband and I camping out in front of a BJ’s Wholesaler after eating our Thanksgiving meal. He wanted to be the first in line to buy some ridiculously discounted television he’d saved for.  We weren’t married yet, and I realized just how madly in love I must be to choose this man’s company, over a comfortable night’s sleep in my childhood bed.

I love the pageantry surrounding American Thanksgiving. The Macy’s Day Parade, the volunteer projects, the football rivalries and even the silly paper pilgrim hats all make me smile.

Of course, I love the food. Although Canada and the U.S. share fairly similar menus, I love the added sweetness in our meals that comes from the marshmallows on our sweet potatoes and our more custard-like pumpkin pie.

I love that Thanksgiving is a four-day weekend in the United States. Thanksgiving in the United States is a bit harder to opt out of because there is nationwide social pressure to participate. The effect of the long lines at the airports and the backed up highways isn’t always negative. I find a cheerful camaraderie develops between us, because we’ve all had the shared experience of coming together with our families and friends to experience the highs (mashed potatoes, hugs, time-worn traditions) and lows (bloating, politically incorrect tirades from distant relations, cancelled flights home) of this wonderful feast.

This year I’m thankful I got to do it twice.