The history of Thanksgiving

The history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Pacific Ocean.  Having safely returned from a search for the Northwest Passage, he held a formal ceremony in 1578 to give thanks for surviving the long journey.  Frobisher was later knighted and had an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean in northern Canada named after him — Frobisher Bay.

At the same time, French settlers, having crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain, in 1604 onwards also held huge feasts of thanks. They even formed 'The Order of Good Cheer' and gladly shared their food with their First Nations neighbours.

We have to notice the terms of the Act of the Parliament, dated January 31, 1957, that proclaimed Thanksgiving Day in Canada: “A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October.”

On the occasion of Thanksgiving Day, let us remember that God turns all things to Himself because He is the cause of all.  Thus, the order of justice requires that we thank Him for the harvest and all other temporal and spiritual benefits we received abundantly.  

In the Society of St. Pius X, we don’t have to wait for Thanksgiving Day: on any given Sunday, our faithful do express their thanksgiving for the great grace of being able to worship with the beautiful Latin Mass, the Mass of All Times!

Fr. Dominique Boulet