While the actual Thanksgiving holiday is on a Monday, Canadians might celebrate (eat their) Thanksgiving (meal) on any day of the three day weekend. Thanksgiving is often celebrated with family, it is also often a time for weekend getaways for couples to observe the autumn leaves, spend one last weekend at the cottage, or participate in various outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, bathing in hot sauce, and hunting.
As an interesting aside- in my ever-vigilant plight to educate people about Newfoundland; The history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Orient. In the year 1578, he held a formal ceremony, in what is now the province of- You guessed it! Newfoundland and Labrador- to give thanks for surviving the long journey. (As Scott and I can now also attest it is a BLOODY long journey and I can understand why Frobisher was so relieved to have survived it!) The feast was one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in North America, although celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops had been a long-standing tradition throughout Canada.
I note sadly, that Wikipedia had a nifty little side bar on their Thanksgiving (Canada) page which stated:
| Significance | A celebration of being thankful for what one has and the bounty of the previous year. |
|---|---|
| Date | Second Monday in October. |
| 2008 date | October 13 |
| Celebrations | Parades, Spending Time with Family, Eating Large Dinners, Religious Practice |
As any Canadian family can attest, Thanksgiving is definitely about "Eating Large Dinners"; however it is my hope that the cultural significance is slightly more.....
Living now in Australia, I have carried on the tradition of Thanksgiving (minus the Turkey in recent years in favour of the more assimilated and appropriate Aussie Barbie) and more recent again, living now in Bathurst for some years, Thanksgiving will often coincide with: you have guessed it, Race Week.
A record crowd came in force to the Mountain to see Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes win the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 for the third year in a row.
More than 187,000 fans enjoyed a remarkable race with Whincup and Lowndes becoming the first pair in 24 years to win three years in succession. And the win elevated Whincup to the top of the Championship table with Lowndes now fourth.
They dominated in a day of drama to head off Greg Murphy and Jason Richards (Tasman Motorsport Holden) with James Courtney and David Besnard (Jeld-Wen Ford) third.
In the following video below which I entitle "How not to start a race."... From POLE position, my favourite team of Garth Tander and Mark Skaife experienced clutch problems which they should be thankful they did not get CREAMED from behind!!!
From a stalled start (FROM POLE) to more drama on the track, poor Skaife had little to be thankful for this Thanksgiving:
As we capped off what was (to my mind) a tragic and sad Holden day at the Races, filled with much drama, and disappointment; we were also reminded that although we have not received the result we were after- we are in one-heck-of-a-better place than most people are. We have our health, we have happiness, and we have each other.
Foremost in my thoughts (believe it or not, yes, aside from the tragedy which struck Garth and Mark, I could spare a thought for other than Holden events this day) of course was Glenda's sister-in-law Thellie and her family, and Grace's closest friend Jackie; and for Kerry and her very special friend Laura and Laura's family. Which gave me pause to consider how blessed I am and how fortunate my life is.
So although I make light of the fun weekend we had once again this week and the activities and high jinx we get up to; Thanksgiving celebration did not pass without acknowledgement and gratefulness in Bathurst this year.
I will provide information below for those of you NOT familiar with Bathurst 1000 or v8 racing in Australia as it is a culture which I have embraced with gusto and fun. And that is something for which I am thankful also- the capacity to live and enjoy life. And believe it or not, the Bathurst 1000 is one of those things that not just I, but thousands of other Australians celebrate in their life.
The following overview was prepared as publicity prior to the Grand Final of key contenders and some great shots of Bathurst Races in years gone past:
The Bathurst 1000 is a 1000 kilometre touring car race held annually at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia.
The race traces its lineage back to a production car race held at Phillip Island in 1960, called the Armstrong 500. Since then 51 races have taken place under the combined history of two events at two venues in two states. I t is known among fans and broadcasters as "The Great Race", and is widely regarded as the pinnacle of Australian motorsport.
“What I love about Bathurst is that an otherwise ordinary season can be rescued by a spectacular result on the mountain,” says Tracey Donaldson of the importance of this monumental race.
“So although it’s near the end of the calendar, it’s kind of like a clean slate,” she adds.
The winners of the race receive the Peter Brock Trophy, inaugurated at the 2006 race in honour of Peter Brock who, with nine Bathurst victories, remains the most successful driver in the history of the race. Since 2000, the race has been run exclusively for V8 Supercars and is now a round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.
The mountain, is calling.
1 comment:
Ok, Jen - I'm going to admit that I tuned out as soon as you started talking about cars.
I think I could go for a hot sauce bath right about now.
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