I just read that in Quebec, commonly referred to as “French Canada,” what we English speakers call Thanksgiving is known as Jour de l’Action de grâce.
Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated in early October, not the fourth Thursday in November like in the U.S. I think that’s probably due to being so far up north they have an earlier harvest season.
I’m not going to go into a boring tutorial about the origins of Thanksgiving. I just want to contemplate the Quebecois version of the name. My French is weak, but to me it translates to mean “day of the action of grace.”
I like the thought that the day means more than just feasting, cooking and clean up. It’s a day of action, practicing thanks. I hope I can learn to have every day be a jour de l’action de grâce. When I’m thankful I have no room for dissatisfaction or envy. When I’m thankful, I am enjoying my blessings to their full extent.
The next step is taking that gratitude to action, sharing some of the amazing goodness that now permeates our lives. This last year has been a good one for us, and we are very, very thankful. I hope we never forget to be grateful, for what good is a lovely treasure to the blind?
Happy day of active thanksgiving to you, and your loved ones, from me and mine…
Angela Yuriko Smith is a regular contributor on Dandilyon Fluff and the author of several modern Gothic books including Mr. Bonejangles & Other Tales of Dark Karma and the End of Daze series which includes End of Mae and End of Joon. Presently serving as a hostess on internet radio talk show, JournalJabber, she pays her bills by working as an editorial assistant for a weekly newspaper.
