Thanksgiving is primarily celebrated in two countries: the USA and Canada.

Since 1957, Canadian Thanksgiving has been celebrated on the second Monday of October. So as US residents settle down to Thanksgiving supper on Thursday, our Canadian neighbors will be giving thanks that they don’t have to deal with Black Friday.

Since Canada is a bilingual country, everything connected to Thanksgiving can of course be expressed in French. For example, take the name of the holiday itself: le Jour de l'Action de Grâce.

Interestingly, I have never heard this term used in France, where people refer to the North American holiday as “le Thanksgiving.”

In Canada, whether it’s called Thanksgiving or le Jour de l'Action de Grâce, the celebration sounds quite similar to what happens south of the border, sports included. For example, the Canadian Football League holds the “Thanksgiving Day Classic,” a nationally televised doubleheader.

However, le football canadien is not quite the same as le football américain. First, the playing field in Canada is larger: 110 yards long, rather than 100, with a deeper end zone. The larger playing space holds more players, too: a Canadian team fields 12 at a time. And Canadian teams had better get straight to business, as they have only three downs to go on.

Canadian Thanksgiving food seems to present fewer cultural differences than their football. According to the site Food by Country,  “A typical menu for Thanksgiving is similar to that served in the country's neighbor to the south, the United States.”

In other words, des restes de dinde, or leftover turkey, likely fills up Canadian freezers too – just a bit earlier.

Betty Carlson

See Also

• Language Translation, Inc.
  A leading language translation and interpretation service provider for more than 20 years.