I was just reading a children’s novel about polio and came across the snippet that Thanksgiving was celebrated in Canada by Martin Frobisher and his crew in Newfoundland a couple of decades before the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock. That Thanksgiving had nothing to do with a good harvest. They were celebrating their thanks that they had survived a journey through the treacherous North West Passage of the Arctic Ocean: a journey that had killed two previous expeditions.
Who knew? We Canadians have bought into the American propaganda about “The First Thanksgiving” and some of our schools even decorate with pilgrim themes. (I went as a pilgrim for Hallowe’en when I was 11. Apparently I was quite Puritanical in my youth!) Time for a shift of perception! Here is an interesting article from the Globe and Mail. (I wonder if it is the very one that prompted the author to include the fact in the novel?)
Next year, decorate for Thanksgiving with icebergs, Polar bears, sailing ships, and salt cod. Be a Canadian original!
Shawn L. Bird 
Time for a street party! June 30, 2011
Tags: canada, Canada Day, postaday2011, TCH, Trans Canada Highway
I live a few blocks off the longest street in the world. One 7821 km long road, that connects our nation from sea to sea. It constantly amazes me how we are linked together through the Trans-Canada Highway. Whether you live in Newfoundland, Ontario, Saskatchewan or BC, it is rare if you have not travelled some distance on this road. Thousands of us commute on it every day.
Highway One unravels in over seven thousand kilometres past oceans, lakes, trees, prairie and mountains. It is a ribbon that ties Canada together. It is a symbol of Canadian unity. Despite the diversity of the scenery that unfolds around it, the Trans-Canada Highway takes us from city to wilderness, from the suburbs to national parks. It connect us together.
The TCH was an amazing feat to construct. If you’ve been through the Rockies recently, you’ll see it is still producing amazing feats of impressive engineering. Canadians and visitors alike are awed by the marvels of nature and man that span the length of this roadway. No other nation can boast of it. So let’s celebrate it!
Canada’s birthday is a perfect time to put barricades up at either end, so we can have a street party the entire length of the road. Someone bring the hockey sticks for a game of shinny. I’ll bring the red and white balloons.
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