Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Over the years, I've been asked, "Why does Canada celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October?"  I did some research and in 1957, the Canadian government declared the second Monday in October as Thanksgiving Day.  Thanksgiving was celebrated on a variety of days prior to that declaration.  The second question I usually get is, "What is the story related to Thanksgiving in Canada?"  The original Canadian thanksgiving went back to 1578 when Martin Frobisher, a British explorer who was on his third journey, looking for the Northwest Passage as well as finding a place to settle.  This journey in 1578, was quite adventurous, having lost a ship with a lot of supplies and facing unexpected storms.  When they finally arrived at the appointed place in Frobisher Bay (yes, it was named after him) in what is now known as Nunavut, a pastor strongly encouraged them to be thankful having made the trip through many dangerous situations.  In response, they had a service of thanks with communion.

When I think back on what our family did for Thanksgiving, I remember going to Thanksgiving service at church on Thanksgiving morning.  The afternoon didn't have any specific events.  I do not remember having turkey dinners on Thanksgiving day when I was young.  That seemed to have happened much later.
So, bringing you back up to the present day and what I did to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving in Japan.  Today is also a Japanese holiday, Sports Day.  Some of the schools have festivals today.  At Christian Academy in Japan, we have our Fall Break today, no school for us. Today, Bruce, Roberta, Ruth and I went for a bicycle ride.  It was not a new route, but it was a beautiful day for a ride.

Our rest stop was Starbucks.  Sitting on the patio drinking a coffee.

Roberta coming up alongside me.  She was mid-word when I took this picture.  :)

Bruce waiting for the train on a walking/bicycle train crossing.

My camera's shutter cover doesn't always open properly and unfortunately I didn't check to make sure it was open, but the flower looks good!  

Selfie while bicycling.  Not bad, eh?

Recognize this river?  I used to bicycle along it when I lived in Kiyose.

My odometer reads 55.525 km bicycled today.

When I bicycle, I tend to think.  Today, I was thinking about all the blessings God has given us and the paper I have to write for my class I am taking online from Dordt College.  We had a beautiful day for a bicycle ride, a great opportunity for the four of us to ride together (doesn't happen too often) and we were able to enjoy God's creation here in Japan on Canadian Thanksgiving!