The other day I was talking to a friend in England and told him that on October 12 we have Thanksgiving bank holiday and than he asked me what Thanksgiving Day is?
I explained to him that Thanksgiving is celebrated in North America to thank God for the blessing of the harvest and it was started in 1621 by European settlers (pilgrims) in North America for their first successful harvest in New World.
It is being celebrated early in Canada on October 12 due to the short summer and long winter while it is celebrated in the USA on November 26.
In different cultures of the world most of the people believe in God or the Supreme power and pray and give thanks to God for everything He has given to us some times more than we expected not right away but sooner or later and that too at right time when we needed it most.
41 years ago we immigrated to Canada 3 weeks before Thanksgiving. I was looking for job in my accounting field as I did my accounting study in India and America. My wife's cousin was visiting from America and called us to say that he would like to come and see us so we gave him our address. He came with his friend who worked for a bank and asked me to apply there which I did along with other companies too. And just before Thanksgiving I got a call from that bank offering me a job.
So we have a special significance of Thanksgiving in our life as God directly or indirectly helped us when we needed his help most. Now we are enjoying our retirement life as we have educated our two daughters and a rich heritage, values and cultures both Indian and Canadian. They both married and happily live in their own homes.
Suresh and Bhavna Patel
Markham, Canada
