David Goss: Canadian Thanksgiving surprises American cruise ship visitors

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Cruise ship visitors arriving in Saint John this Thanksgiving weekend are in for quite a surprise when what they expect to be Columbus Day weekend is actually Thanksgiving weekend. This is most obvious to the 10 percent of visitors who take the time to visit Trinity Church, where this congregation keeps alive an old English custom called Harvest Home by decorating the nave and chancel with sheaves of wheat and bales of straw Garden products placed here, there and everywhere.

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Many will ask the volunteer leaders on duty why the church is so decorated, since they have no idea that Canada hosted a Thanksgiving celebration of explorer Frobisher 43 years before the first pilgrimage in 1621, upon which its fourth Thursday feast in November is based .

Officially, there has only been the second Monday in October in Canada since 1957 by parliamentary resolution. Unofficially, there has been a continuous celebration since 1879, although the date has been changed at the government's discretion. From 1921 to 1931 it was part of the Armistice Day ceremonies, which varied from year to year but eventually evolved into what we call Remembrance Day on November 11th. Thanksgiving was then moved back to the second Monday in October, although as such it was not obligatory until 1957.

Trinity was founded by loyalist settlers. Many of them had English roots and knew the harvest home or harvest festival in England. When England was still a very agrarian society, every small village church was gifted with seasonal fruit and vegetables, and even the last wildflowers were shown to good effect on the altar together with a loaf of bread. In addition to fostering a spirit of gratitude to its Creator, this occasion also had a practical purpose: to distribute the harvest to those who may have had nothing to share after Sunday services.

In Trinity, the harvest decorations remain in place for the remainder of the month, as it has been observed over the years that cruise ship visitors find them an interesting contrast to the pilgrimage focus at home. Thanksgiving is the most important family occasion in America, and visitors to Trinity enjoy a nostalgic look at what's to come back home in five or six weeks.

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However, there are always some who question this idea and ask why we don't stick to the American version. Some even think that Thanksgiving is an American idea, and are surprised at the Frobisher story and other Canadian stories that can be told, and that the Pilgrim Festival can be traced back to Harvest Home in England.

Is there any chance this change in Thanksgiving dates will ever happen? Well, never say never! A New York writer, Calvin Trillin, who has written about 30 books and spent most of his 88 summers living on the south shore of Nova Scotia (in that he considers himself 1/6 Nova Scotian). 1/6 a maritime person), thinks it is possible. In 1989 he wrote a piece for the Toronto Star newspaper in which he pointed out that a little-known fact about the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement is that it reads “in the fine print”: “Canadians need to change their Thanksgiving day.”

Was he serious now? It's hard to say since I haven't read the fine print or any other part of the document, but knowing that Trillin is described in promotions as “America's Funniest Writer,” I think he may have a little James Mullinger The story tells the story Stars Reader.

At least I hope that's the case. I would definitely miss these Trinity decorations, but there's no need as there's a cruise ship in port every day in October and the volunteer guides on duty are happy to show you how a bit of Church of England tradition is still alive in the most English Gothic style right in the heart of Saint John.

David Goss is a local tour guide, storyteller and author. He welcomes comments on these columns and suggestions for topics to explore at [email protected].

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