When summer is ending, Canada becomes a spectacular scene with bright crimson, deep orange and golden yellow colours. Autumn is generally considered one of the most beautiful and beloved seasons in the country. The clear, cool air provides a pleasant change and encourages people to go outside, where they can enjoy picking apples, taking scenic drives through the coloured forests and making visits to local farm stalls.
Autumn is characterized by its abundant harvest, as can be seen so beautifully in the local markets all over Ontario and in other provinces. The wooden crates and the display stands are filled with a wide range of squashes, gourds, decorative corn, and vivid orange pumpkins. Besides highlighting the rich agricultural production of the area with slogans such as “Good Things Grow in Ontario”, these displays also mark the arrival of one of Canada’s most important holidays: Thanksgiving.
In Canada Thanksgiving occurs on the second Monday in October. Different from the American version which is in November, the Canadian celebration takes place earlier in order to correspond with the earlier harvest season in the northern regions. In historical terms, it is a period when people give thanks for the successful harvest and the blessings received during the past year.
Thanksgiving is now a popular family tradition which focuses on gratitude, warmth and being together. Families come together at beautifully decorated dining tables to enjoy a plentiful meal. The usual menu includes a roasted turkey going with savoury stuffing, rich gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and roasted seasonal vegetables such as squash. A slice of freshly made pumpkin or apple pie served with cream is essential if a Thanksgiving dinner is to be considered complete.
Thanks to the excellent food, Thanksgiving also provides a mild reminder to slow down, take time to think about all that we are grateful for, and to appreciate the company of our loved ones before the cold winter months set in. The autumn season in Canada is in fact a celebration of the benefits nature has to offer, of the warmth of family, and of the long-established traditions.
After the harvest has been gathered and the festive atmosphere set up, attention then turns to the main event: the Thanksgiving dinner. In most Canadian households the item that stands out at this gathering is a turkey which has been carefully prepared. Just as giving thanks is an essential part of the holiday, there is a series of steps and family traditions that are followed in getting this traditional dish from the shelf in the store to the dinner table.
The key element of the Canadian Thanksgiving custom is the preparation of the main dish, the turkey. The process usually starts at local grocery shops and supermarkets several days before the holiday weekend. This can be observed in the meat freezers, which contain brands such as “Golden West” Grade A young turkeys, where picking out the right bird is an important first move. Families carefully select the size of the turkey according to the number of people they expect to be at the dinner table, never forgetting the cherished tradition of having a large amount of food left over for the days after.
In Canada the tradition of preparing a Thanksgiving turkey is based on family recipes, patience and careful planning. Since the turkeys bought in shops are usually frozen solid, the work has to start several days beforehand with thorough thawing in the refrigerator. After it has completely thawed the home cook then gets on with preparing the turkey for roasting. Traditional Canadian recipes typically call for spreading butter or olive oil on the skin together with a good amount of fresh herbs such as sage, thyme, rosemary and parsley.
Stuffing or dressing is also a vital part of the Canadian turkey custom. Although a few people choose to bake the savoury bread crumb mixture in a separate casserole dish, a large number of traditionalists put the stuffing into the bird right before putting it in the oven. As the turkey roasts slowly for several hours, filling the house with a delicious smell, it is frequently basted in order to keep the meat juicy and tender at the same time as obtaining a golden, crisp skin.
Once the internal temperature has reached perfection, the turkey is taken out of the oven and left to rest. While it is resting, the tasty pan drippings are turned into a thick and smooth gravy. The act of carving the turkey is usually a cherished part of the celebration and takes place at the table just before everybody sits down to eat the substantial, warm Thanksgiving meal together.
Nothing completes a Canadian autumn without the famous sight of pumpkins following the festive meal. When the time for Thanksgiving approaches, huge cardboard bins full of bright orange pumpkins can be found in grocery stores, shopping centres, and local farm markets all over the country. Because they are cheap—often only a few dollars each, as is shown in the displays at supermarkets—these lively orange squashes become an essential seasonal buy for nearly every household.
It’s a favourite autumn habit among families and children to choose the right pumpkin. Those smaller, sweeter types, such as sugar pumpkins, are picked specifically so that they can be used in making tasty homemade pies, soups and roasted foods, while larger field pumpkins have a totally different use—they are bought for the purpose of decorating front porches, doorsteps and living rooms, and in this way bring the warm, cosy colours of the harvest season into Canadian homes together with chrysanthemums and corn stalks.
The process of buying a pumpkin during the Thanksgiving weekend actually starts the countdown to Halloween at the end of October. It is common for families to display the pumpkins they have just picked during the Thanksgiving holiday and then gather later in the month to carve them into cheerful jack-o’-lanterns. The seeds contained in the pumpkins are seldom thrown away; a traditional seasonal treat enjoyed by a great many people is toasted pumpkin seeds that have been seasoned with salt, cinnamon, or butter.
As October goes on, the atmosphere of autumn spreads well beyond market places and dining tables and reaches the core of local communities. There is no way of capturing the country-style appeal of rural Canadian autumns like a bright yellow farm wagon adorned with stacks of straw bales and lively orange and purple mesh bows. These colourful arrangements, which are commonly found at roadside stalls and at community fall fairs, act as a nostalgic tribute to the traditional farming heritage and to the joint effort made in harvesting before the frost comes. For families all over Canada, these festive farm wagon displays form an important part of their weekend drives through the countryside.
The children enjoy getting on the straw bales to take family photographs, while the parents buy fresh cider, maple products and hand-made seasonal decorations. It is a simple and peaceful tradition which links urban and suburban communities with the rural areas that support them all year round. Finally, Canadian Thanksgiving and the autumn season as a whole stand for something much greater than just being a date on the calendar—they show a deep appreciation for the simple blessings of life.
Whether it be the abundant harvest of pumpkins and squashes or the warmth of a homemade turkey dinner enjoyed with loved ones, each aspect of October in Canada encourages people to stop and reflect with gratitude. As the vivid autumn colours slowly disappear and the sharp cold of late October takes hold, the memories made around family tables and at rural farm stalls continue to provide a lasting source of comfort as the winter months ahead come.
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