Thanksgiving Day

Canadian Thanksgiving, also known as Thanksgiving Day in Canada, is a harvest festival and an official public holiday (in most parts of Canada) observed annually in early October, at the end of the Canadian harvest period and before the cold winter sets in. While the date was changed a number of times, it was finally fixed in 1957 on the second Monday of October and now always falls between October 8 and October 14. Many families hold the celebration (and the feast) on the weekend before. It is held on the same date as Columbus Day in the United States (meaning both countries have a public holiday on the same day, even if the two holidays are different). In the United States the Thanksgiving Day celebrations are held on the fourth Thursday of November. The date always falls between November 22 and November 28 and is followed by Black Friday, the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.