Canadian Thanksgiving.

[Thipu1]

No quite transatlantic but international. 

On another thread there was a mention that menus for Canadian Thanksgiving dinners differ from those in the USA. 

It would be interesting to know the differences.  Those of us down south could take a point or two from our northern neighbors. 

[redleaf]

From what I've seen, I don't think there is too much difference - other than the fact that we celebrate it in October rather than November. 

Our usual TG meal is turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing/dressing, cranberry sauce, buns/rolls, a side vegetable (usually peas in our family), sometimes a garden salad and pumpkin pie for dessert    It may vary across the country, but in western Canada, that's fairly standard.

[Outdoor Girl]

I think the biggest difference, beyond the October/November thing, is that we tend to have our vegetables as is with just butter, salt and pepper rather than casseroles.  And pumpkin pie is usually the only dessert.

[AustenFan]

I think the major difference may be green bean casserole. I have lived in Canada all my life and never heard of it. I have never heard of sweet potatoes being served, either. You usually get them in fry form up here. For our vegetables we have carmelized brussels sprouts, roasted broccoli or broccoli salad and a side salad.

I don't like pumpkin at all, so we usually have a couple desserts including a nice caramel apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream.

[redleaf]

I think the major difference may be green bean casserole. I have lived in Canada all my life and never heard of it.

Green bean casserole may be regional - I've been served it many times (never eaten it, as I don't care for green beans), just not at TG dinner...unless that's what you meant in your post 

[Deetee]

I've had Thanksgiving in both countries and the only real difference I found was that we (Canada) always have brussel sprouts and I couldn't even find them in the stores in the US.

[katcheya]

I have never been served candied yam at our Thanksgiving dinner, nor the green bean casserole a dish regularly served in my family.  Everything else is the same as what I've read in books or forums posts!

[Sharnita]

I've had Thanksgiving in both countries and the only real difference I found was that we (Canada) always have brussel sprouts and I couldn't even find them in the stores in the US.

I always thought brussel sprouts tended to be kind of gassy if you will and at Thanksgiving people tend to eat so much of so many different foods that it isn't a veggie I'd tend to serve.

[Thipu1]

Thanks, everyone.

The date of Canadian Thanksgiving is easy for people in the USA to remember.  It's the same day as our Columbus Day. 

Growing up in southern NYS, we never had the notorious green bean casserole.  We had green beans but they were fresh and served with a little butter and salt.  We had sweet potatoes but they were just roasted or baked.  We never had to put up with the marshmallow mess although a cook considered sloppy might open a purple can of 'Royal Prince Yams'. 

Although I loved them, we never had brussel sprouts for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners.  We did have creamed onions.  Nobody ever ate the onions but the sauce was a nice addition to the gravy on the mashed potatoes. 

Pumpkin and apple pies were a standard for dessert at the holidays. 

Ooh.  Now I'm getting interested in Holiday dinners. 

[Outdoor Girl]

I have my list going already!  I have to strip the summer savoury I have dried, make up my dressing herb mix which includes the savoury, some thyme, sage, seasoned salt, black pepper and ginger.  I have to grind up the bread crusts I have in the freezer for crumbs.  I'm hoping cranberries will be in the store next week so I can make the cranberry orange relish.  I need to make pastry and roll out some shells for making pumpkin pies.  My carrots, beets and rutabagas are still in the ground; I'll have to dig them next week to take with me to my brother's for the dinner.

Plus, the weekend after, my Dad and my brother will go to the camp to go hunting.  I usually make them a couple of pies to eat while they are up there.  I'm planning on raisin and raspberry, I think.  I'll send an extra shell and container of pumpkin pie fill, too.

The only think I don't know right now is how many we are going to be for Thanksgiving.  It might be just 5 of us; it might be more depending on whether or not any of my nephews' friends would otherwise be alone.

[veryfluffy]

I grew up in Quebec, but my family (and the families of everyone I knew) were recent immigrants from various European countries. Not everyone did Thanksgiving dinner, and I suspect those who did had significant variation, incorporating whatever side dishes they felt went with it. But I definitely never heard of yams/sweet potatoes, or the green bean casserole, and I never ever encountered pumpkin pie in the 20 years I lived there.

[CakeEater]

Excuse my ignorance - what are Canadians being thankful for? Am I right in believing that Thanksgiving in the USA commemorates the arrival of the British to that country?

[veryfluffy]

Excuse my ignorance - what are Canadians being thankful for? Am I right in believing that Thanksgiving in the USA commemorates the arrival of the British to that country?

Thanksgiving is a harvest festival. The American Thanksgiving tradition started after a good harvest, helped by the local native tribe, allowed the settlers to feed themselves instead of starve. Canadian Thanksgiving traditions developed out of similar harvest festivals, and being in October takes place at a quite traditional time for these.

[Outdoor Girl]

Canadian Thanksgiving is very much a harvest festival.  My parents always decorated our church with lots of vegetables and fruit for Thanksgiving service.  And on the way out the door, we grabbed the squash, potatoes and rutabagas out of the display to make for dinner.   

My understanding of American Thanksgiving was that the Pilgrams didn't have enough food stored for the winter and the local Native Americans put on a big feast for them and helped them out with food stores to get them through winter.  Am I wrong?

[jmarvellous]

Canadian Thanksgiving is very much a harvest festival.  My parents always decorated our church with lots of vegetables and fruit for Thanksgiving service.  And on the way out the door, we grabbed the squash, potatoes and rutabagas out of the display to make for dinner.   

My understanding of American Thanksgiving was that the Pilgrams didn't have enough food stored for the winter and the local Native Americans put on a big feast for them and helped them out with food stores to get them through winter.  Am I wrong?

The story is that they didn't have enough and were starving, but that the American Indians helped them to learn how to cultivate here, then the groups shared their bounty with each other that fall.