Gratitude is a pretty big deal to me. I have had a regular daily gratitude practice for a number of years, it has changed my life for the better in so many ways. More on that in the videos below, but first a little history lesson.

The Origins And History Of Canadian Thanksgiving

Very few of our US neighbors (or Canadians for that matter) know that the origins and history Canadian Thanksgiving are quite different from our neighbors to the south.

The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving are actually connected to the traditions of Europe rather than of those in the United States. Long before Europeans settled in North America, festivals of thanks and celebrations of harvest took place in Europe in the month of October. The very first Thanksgiving celebration in North America took place in Canada when Martin Frobisher, an explorer from England, arrived in Newfoundland in 1578. He wanted to give thanks for his safe arrival to the New World. That means the first Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated 43 years before the pilgrims came to Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Official Holiday

For a few hundred years, Thanksgiving was celebrated in either late October or early November, before it was declared a national holiday in 1879. It was then, that November 6th was set aside as the official Thanksgiving holiday. But then on January 31, 1957, Canadian Parliament decided that on the second Monday in October, Thanksgiving would be a day of general thanksgiving for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed. Thanksgiving was moved to the second Monday in October in order to give Remembrance Day (November 11th)  its just due (Thanksgiving kept falling in the same week).

Daily Gratitude Practice a life changer!

Thanksgiving is a time that many people take extra time for gratitude. Have you ever considered what a daily gratitude practice would be like?  My Daily Gratitude practice has changed my life in so many ways, I can not recommend it enough. In honor of Thanksgiving I made a little video for you which includes a Guided Gratitude Meditation. Enjoy!

The other video I mention