Happy Thankgiving!

Today is our Canadian Thanksgiving, always celebrated on the second Monday of October.  Thanksgiving Day in Canada is linked to the European tradition of harvest festivals.  This is a time when Canadians across our great nation give thanks for food, friends, families and everything good in our lives.  A common image seen this time of year is the cornucopia (Horn of Plenty), a symbol of bounty and plenty in ancient Greece.  The cornucopia is filled with seasonal fruits and vegetables like pumpkins, ears of corn and apples.

The traditional Canadian Thanksgiving Day feast differs from the American version.  Four foods traditional to both feasts aside of the turkey are stuffing, sweet potatoes, bread and pumpkin pie but there are differences.  Canadian stuffing (in the bird) not dressing (outside the bird).  Sweet potatoes are traditionally served baked or mashed in the Canadian feast, rather than casserole style.  They are not combined with sugar, spices, butter or topped with marshmallows.  Corn bread is traditionally the Thanksgiving bread for American Thanksgiving feasts but is rarely served at a Canadian Thanksgiving feast.  The Canadian choice is a wheat based dinner roll.  The Canadian pumpkin pie is spicy, infused with nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger unlike the American version that is a custardy, sweet pie made with eggs, butter, milk and pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg.

My husband and I give thanks that we are blessed with a beautiful family both immediate and extended.  Today, we give extra thanks for the safe arrival of our youngest grandchild, just after 5:30 this morning.  Believe me, this Grandma and Papa are walking on sunshine today!  Today, we give thanks for the many wonderful friends in our lives.  We also give thanks to the abundance of healthy food, a safe food supply and our local farmers and food producers in beautiful Ontario, Canada!  Happy Thanksgiving!