“Seconds please!”
Enjoy Canadian Thanksgiving with family and friends on October 12th and sign up for your “second” Thanksgiving festivities on one of our American Thanksgiving tours to Spokane, Washington for our Interior clients or to Portland, Oregon for our Victoria passengers. Yes, you will enjoy turkey, dressing and all the familiar fixings at Spokane’s heritage Davenport Hotel or in Portland at the Embassy Suites Hotel built in 1912.
Davenport Hotel, Spokane
Embassy Suites Hotel, Portland
I love turkey and all the trimmings, but never seem to have it except at Thanksgiving and Christmas, so a chance to have seconds of Thanksgiving dinner has real palate appeal.
The Davenport Hotel will be beautifully decorated for the Christmas holidays and will set the mood for the upcoming season. We have included an historic tour of the hotel, a visit to Bing Crosby’s childhood home, the musical “White Christmas”, a dinner cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene and of course shopping.
In Portland we have included the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, the musical Ain’t Misbehavin’, and lots of time for shopping.
There are differences between the Canadian and American Thanksgiving right from the origin of the celebration to the preparation of some of the iconic dishes that we all look forward to.
Origin:
Did you know that the origin of Thanksgiving in North America is most attributed to Canada? While there is still some debate, it is widely accepted that English explorer, Sir Martin Frobisher and his crew celebrated the first North American Thanksgiving in Newfoundland in 1578. The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621, 43 years later than Canada. We as Canadians were celebrating our safe arrival in the New World while the Americans were celebrating God’s bounty and a good harvest.
Every year, Canada celebrates Thanksgiving before the United States and since 1957, it has always been on the second Monday of October. This was smart thinking on our part, as it provides a long weekend every year! Thanksgiving is celebrated nationally and is a statutory holiday in most Canadian provinces, but on Prince Edward Island, in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Thanksgiving is optional.
In 1941, the United States Congress officially declared Thanksgiving to be a federal holiday. Today Thanksgiving is held on the fourth Thursday of November every year, which does not give the Americans a long weekend making it harder for family and friends to travel and celebrate. It is however, the busiest travel weekend of the year in the US.
Tradition:
Turkey is the feature of the Thanksgiving feast in both Canada and the United States along with stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. There are subtle differences in the preparation of some of these traditional dishes, for example, the Americans like to top their sweet potatoes with marshmallows and add custard to their pumpkin pie.
Sports:
National League football games are played in both Canada (Canadian Football League) and the United States (National Football League) on Thanksgiving Day and both are nationally televised.
Shopping:
In the US, the biggest shopping day of the year is the day after Thanksgiving. Referred to as “Black Friday”, door busting shopping deals are the dish of the day. This is the day when retail stores go from red to black (turn a profit) for the year and consumers line up well before dawn for the deals. Our tour will provided plenty of time for you to get in on the bargains. In Canada, our biggest shopping day of the year is Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, but each year we find the Black Friday concept gaining momentum in Canada.
I hope you will be joining us on our Thanksgiving tour to Spokane at the beautiful Davenport Hotel and enjoy a “second helping” of this wonderful holiday.
Happy Thanksgiving!
American Thanksgiving in Spokane
American Thanksgiving in Portland
Written by: Joan Niemeier
