Thanksgiving is very well known as a holiday that is celebrated in the United States, but it is not well known that several other countries have their own versions of the turkey holiday as well. Countries, such as Canada, the Netherlands, China and Germany, celebrate autumn holidays, similar to American Thanksgiving.
According to The Points Guy, a travel website, Canada is one of the most similar countries to the United States concerning its Thanksgiving history and traditions. Canadian tribespeople were the first in Canada to celebrate the harvest season, even before European settlers got there. Since there are a lot of French speakers in the country, Thanksgiving is often referred to as “Action de grace.” The holiday was not an official holiday for many years until it was confirmed as a national holiday in 1879; it is observed on the second Monday of October.
Chantelle MacPhee, the Chair of the Department of Language Studies and the Arts and Associate Professor, added Thanksgiving in Canada is earlier than the states because the holiday is associated with the harvest season. Therefore, it has to be earlier in the Fall because the weather can change very drastically, and they need to celebrate before the first snowfall, which will freeze the agriculture needed for the feast.
She also mentioned that Canada was not founded by the Pilgrims like the United States, so Thanksgiving in Canada is celebrating the natives that lived there, the French and English. MacPhee cited some other differences between the US and Canada.
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“Thanksgiving in Germany is known as Erntedankfest, meaning harvest thanksgiving festival. There are church services, parades, and other celebratory activities.”
“We don’t care about football; hockey is the main thing. But the thing is that the season usually is just beginning, so it might be on or not. Also, with us it’s not parades,” said MacPhee. “In Canada, it’s a time for all of the family to get together from all around the country and sit down to have a meal with aunts, uncles, cousins and all your other relatives. Depending on where you are [in Canada], university might close on that week’s Monday, but that is it. You get Sunday and Monday; there is a not week-long break like there is here [United States].”
MacPhee went on to talk about the food served on Thanksgiving Day in Canada.
“It is usually French oriented cooking. So, it might be scalped potatoes instead of mashed potatoes. There is not as much food; the biggest thing is turkey. There are other sides like mashed potatoes, but it will be a large portion of mashed potatoes because there are usually about four foods to choose from, not seven or eight like in America,” said Macphee.
More food that is a norm is squash, pumpkin, eggplant and cucumber. Other than turkey, another meat dish is turducken, which has been gaining popularity. Turducken, also known as a three-bird roast, is a deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck, stuffed into a deboned turkey. There are dressings and other different meats added occasionally for more flavor, states Cajun Crawfish, a Cajun delivery service site. These dishes are all options that may or may not be on a Canadian Thanksgiving table since MacPhee said there are not as many different food options compared to an American Thanksgiving dinner; it all depends on the preference of the family what they choose to serve.
Some more meat options include ham, tofurkey (tofu turkey) and regular duck.
Other than potatoes, gravy and turkey, MacPhee said traditional food include corn on the cob, or if not corn then green beans, which are also referred to as wax beans, but not green bean casserole, which is popular in the states.
However, she mentioned that things have shifted a little bit over the years because now people like to add quinoa, for a healthier food choice.
Deserts are similar to the United States as well, but there are also some others that are not well known in the states.
“Usually we have pumpkin pie or squash pie, one of the two is always on the table. If you’re French like myself, you will have what is called sugar pie. French traditions will often have a little bit more variety [in food choices],” she added.
Another country that has a very similar Thanksgiving evening to the United States is the Netherlands, states The Daily Meal. Similar to North America, the Netherlands observe Thanksgiving on the third Thursday of November. Traditional meals well known in the United States also are served in the Netherlands, such as turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy and other dressings.
There is a very close connection to the United States and the Netherlands; when the Pilgrims left Europe they landed in Leiden, located in the Netherlands. After staying there for some time, they then made their way to North America. Leiden is the home of a gothic church where an important Pilgrim leader, John Robinson, is buried. There is also The Leiden American Pilgrim Museum, located in Beschuitsteeg, Netherlands, which is furnished with authentic pieces from the Pilgrims.
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“Pictured is the Qinhuai River, located in China. The picture was taken during the Moon Festival, China’s version of Thanksgiving. They celebrate the moon and the harvest season.”
The Points Guy mentions that China has been celebrating their version of Thanksgiving, known as “The Moon Festival,” which is observed on the 15th of either September or October. The month of observation shifts every year depending on when the moon begins to be at its brightest and the agricultural season begins to change. Their celebrations are more observing mid-autumn time, rather than a historical significance like Canada and the United States.
On this day, China eats in a family dinner setting; their food choices including mooncakes. Mooncakes are a Chinese desert, which has an egg yolk inside, symbolizing the moon. Another Moon Festival tradition that China has is the lighting of lanterns, which shows their worshipping of the moon.
Germany also has an autumn harvest celebration that they observe every year within the months of September and October, the date of observation depends on the region of Germany. Their celebration is known in German as “Erntedank” or “Erntedankfest,” meaning harvest thanksgiving festival, states German Way.
However, the most common day to celebrate Thanksgiving is the first Sunday in October, but there is no nationwide observance date. Recently, turkey has been gaining popularity as a dish on this day, but the more traditional dish is a slow- roasted goose; and the goose is normally prepared with stuffing. Unlike North America, this is not a large family holiday due to not all of Germany celebrating the festivities, but it still includes large feast that observers dine on.
Regions that do celebrate Erntedankfest have church services, parades and other celebratory activities. The most common churches that participate are the Christian churches. Church services include sermons and holiday choir songs. There are also festivals that have a harvest crown, and during this time they crown a harvest queen. During the festivals, there is dancing, singing, traditional music and a lot of food. At night, there are lantern and torch parades for children, which also include fireworks.
Saint Leo University has a diverse population of campus students, including students from other countries; many of which do not travel home over the Thanksgiving break. Paige Ramsey-Hamacher, Multicultural and International Services Executive Director, mentions that there is a handful of students that go home over the break, go home with their friends that live in the United States, see family they have in the states or use the time to travel and see tourist sights.
However, for students who do not travel home or go somewhere else over the break, the International department caters to the students by scheduling trips at the beginning of the week-long break. To learn more about the trips for students who remain on campus, please read this article, “Things to do for Thanksgiving Break on Campus,” located on the Lions’ Pride Media Group website.
