For anyone who has visited or lived in the USA during November, you probably understand that Thanksgiving is a truly great tradition. While Independence Day may be more significant, American Thanksgiving is when the best of American character is demonstrated. Speak with someone who has visited or lived in the U.S. during this time of November and you will likely hear a story of being invited to spend the day with someone's family. In my time at RPI, every year someone made certain that I wasn't spending the day alone. Few people will disagree with your desire to ignore Easter or spend a New Years quietly at home, but if you even hint that on Thanksgiving Day you plan to just watch football alone in your apartment, you are going to be dragged over to a colleague's place for a huge turkey dinner.
In contrast, Canadian Thanksgiving just doesn't have the same cultural roots for some reason. Both cultures like to eat turkey, perhaps because settlers in both countries extirpated the tasty bird throughout many parts of the continent. Many Canadians feel the day is nothing more than a welcome day off work in October, a time to close the cottage or have one last canoe trip for the year. Certainly there are plenty of family dinners, but in my experience, Americans really nail the thanks in Thanksgiving by being so quick and insistent about welcoming people into their families. Way to go Yanks ! And thanks to all the people who have made me ... homesick for the my time spent south of the border.
