🦃 Why Most Canadians Celebrate Thanksgiving on Sunday?

Thanksgiving weekend in Canada hits different. The air’s a little cooler, the leaves are out here showing off, and everybody’s ready to slow things down and link up with family. But here’s something you might’ve noticed: a lot of Canadians don’t actually wait until Monday, the official holiday, to throw down that big Thanksgiving dinner. Nope — Sunday is where the real action happens.

So why Sunday? Simple. Monday is the chill day. When the turkey’s carved and the pies are done, nobody wants to spend the next morning packing up or heading straight back to work. A Sunday feast means Monday’s wide open for sleeping in, heating up leftovers, or just catching some quiet fall vibes before the week starts. It’s that built-in recovery day Canadians love.

Travel plays a big role too. Let’s be real—families are scattered all over. Sunday dinners give people time to hit the road without stressing about that late-night drive or early morning flight. You get the whole weekend to move around, celebrate, and still have that final day to breathe.

But hey, not everybody follows the Sunday playbook. Some families keep it traditional and wait for the actual holiday Monday to host their big meal. If nobody’s working or traveling, it can feel more official. And a few folks even get things started on Saturday, using the rest of the weekend to keep the vibes going—visiting friends, hitting fall festivals, or just soaking up the long weekend.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter which day you gather around the table. Thanksgiving’s about family, good food, and taking a minute to be grateful. Personally? I love a Sunday dinner. You get the full experience and a built-in “leftover lounge day” on Monday. You can’t beat that combo.

However you celebrate, make it warm, make it memorable, and pass that gravy like you mean it.