Happy Thanksgiving to me!

[ssampier]

Ah, that makes sense then. City guy, myself, but my dad's family is in farming.

The unfair part of all this is that Americans get Columbus Day during our Thanksgiving, but we don't get any holidays during their Thanksgiving...and no excuse to have Black Friday off either.

I feel confident saying most Americans do not get Columbus Day off. The day after Thanksgiving is more or less standard, I think. Black Friday is a huge shopping day in the U.S., no doubt.

How do most Canadians spend their Holiday?

 

[Thunderfoot]

[MENTION=40136]ssampier [/MENTION]- yeah, that varies from state to state - and of course since it's a Federal Holiday, all Federal establishments are closed (Post Office, Military Bases (as much as they can), Federal Offices, Washington D.C. (yeah, the whole city)).

As to the farming questions - thanks all - and for reference once you get a hard freeze (anything below 32F (0C) for more than 6 hours) crops are finished, so yeah, your growing season is over. And I thought growing up in the middle of BFE would never come in handy...

And there is no such thing as too much turkey or pumpkin pie, unless they are scraping you off of the walls because you exploded.

 

[freyar]

I feel confident saying most Americans do not get Columbus Day off. The day after Thanksgiving is more or less standard, I think. Black Friday is a huge shopping day in the U.S., no doubt.

How do most Canadians spend their Holiday?

My observation is that Thanksgiving in Canada is pretty similar to the US, as it's mostly about food and family. The biggest difference is the 3 day weekend instead of a 4 day weekend. The other real trouble with having Thanksgiving on an October Monday is that there's nothing after Halloween to stop the retailers cranking up the usual overblown Christmas shopping season. Two months of in-your-face sales people and bad renditions of Christmas carols are just too much.

 

[Thunderfoot]

My observation is that Thanksgiving in Canada is pretty similar to the US, as it's mostly about food and family. The biggest difference is the 3 day weekend instead of a 4 day weekend. The other real trouble with having Thanksgiving on an October Monday is that there's nothing after Halloween to stop the retailers cranking up the usual overblown Christmas shopping season. Two months of in-your-face sales people and bad renditions of Christmas carols are just too much.

Oh, that doesn't change anything here.... We already have Christmas decorations on sale in the stores and Christmas themed toy drives in my neck of the woods. Luckily, no Christmas music...yet

I guess the Christmas season will start in August next year, hey, maybe Santa Claus will visit GenCon.

 

[depuepedro]

Thanksgiving was a harvest festival, to include the end of hunting

 

[ssampier]

Any other interesting Canadian holidays that I should know about?

My observation is that Thanksgiving in Canada is pretty similar to the US, as it's mostly about food and family. The biggest difference is the 3 day weekend instead of a 4 day weekend. The other real trouble with having Thanksgiving on an October Monday is that there's nothing after Halloween to stop the retailers cranking up the usual overblown Christmas shopping season. Two months of in-your-face sales people and bad renditions of Christmas carols are just too much.

As Thunderfoot notes, it is normal to have Halloween decorations and Christmas display up at the same time.

I say we save each the other the heartache and just mash them all together.

Who's with me? *crickets*

 

[freyar]

Man, I don't remember that Christmas shopping stuff started quite so early when I lived in the states up till 5 years ago...

Anyway, the next holiday up is Remembrance Day = US Veteran's Day. Not a big one but a day off for a fair number of folks.

 

[Thunderfoot]

And as a veteran, we thank you for patronage.

Of course, since this year its 11 - 11 - 11, VH1C has termed it National Metal Day (this one goes to 11). While slightly humorous, it does make me bristle a bit.

Does anyone here know why it November 11th and can you tell the rest of that story? (I know it, it then I am a history geek.)

 

[ssampier]

11 November was formerly known as Armistice Day, a holiday to celebrate the Armistice of the Great War (known to us as World War I).

I'd have to cheat (google) to get more detail.

 

[Cor Azer]

Does anyone here know why it November 11th and can you tell the rest of that story? (I know it, it then I am a history geek.)

Just the old "at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month" part about signing the WWI armistice; dunno if there was significance (beyond "hey memorable!") to that time and date.