Today — Monday, October 12, 2009 — is the Thanksgiving holiday in Canada.

Canadians celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday roughly six weeks earlier than Americans do. And U.S. expats always ask, “Why?”

Here’s an excerpt from my book, Living Abroad in Canada, about why Canadian Thanksgiving is in October:

While Canada doesn’t share the pilgrim legends that infuse U.S. Thanksgiving traditions, the country does have a history of thanksgiving feasts….

The Canadian government first proclaimed an official holiday for “the blessings of an abundant harvest” in November 1879. For the next 40-some years, Canada celebrated Thanksgiving on varying dates in either October or November….Finally, in 1957, Parliament permanently declared that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on the second Monday of October.

But why October? Historians don’t agree, although many say it’s because October is harvest time in much of Canada. By late November, wide swaths of the country are already covered in snow.

Most Americans will find Canada’s Thanksgiving foods familiar. Canadians typically load up their holiday table with turkey, stuffing, mashed or sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, at least of couple of other vegetables, and some sort of pie.

Canadian Living magazine highlights some of the subtle differences between Thanksgiving dinners in Canada and the U.S here.

Happy Turkey Day!

Photo by Shoshanah (flickr)