Thanksgiving Day is going to be celebrated in Canada in 2015 on the 12th of October. Traditionally the Day is celebrated in the company of friends and members of family with roast turkey and the produce of the season that includes pumpkin, corn-ears and pecan nuts. It is a public holiday when most stores and businesses are closed. The day is based on a tradition of its Aboriginals who held celebrations in honor of the bounty of the harvest.
Some features of the tradition of Aboriginals have been incorporated with the European tradition to celebrate the horn of plenty, called cornucopia. In Europe, the horn of a curved goat’s horn was filled with fruit and grain. They brought this tradition to Canada as Punjabis have brought the tradition of Lohri from India, a multilingual, multifaith and multicultural country, where several such festivals are held for bountiful harvest with the colour of the local tradition. The most common among these festivals are Pongal in the West and Lohri in Punjab. IndoCanadians can celebrate the thanksgiving day in the spirit of Pongal and Lohri.
As an IndoCanadian poet and novelist, I would like to celebrate the day also with my poem “My Canada” to give thanks for the blessings of the nation which are shared by citizens. This poem was roughly drafted on my mini recorder while driving from my hometown to Mississauga, six to seven hours drive on highway 401, for a visit to my sister. Here is the poem in its final shape:
MY CANADA
My Canada
in thy lap
lie all nations
humans and beasts
melt into one shape
under thy care.
Thy land and life
and springs
thy summer and fall
and skies
thy joyful birds--
delight-giving sights--
breathe a new life in me
my Canada.
A nation so great
diverse and brave
thy rivers and lakes
wide and long highways
reveal thy riches to me.
Thy soul
a serene temple
for every creed
and every breed.
My heart will sing
always for thee
my lips will chant
night and day for thee.
O Canada
my well of love
full for thee.
A peace-adoring dove
never my love
shall cease for thee
my Canada.
About the author: Multiple award winning Stephen Gill, Indo/Canadian poet and novelist, has authored more than twenty books. He is the subject of doctoral dissertations, and research papers. Eleven books have been released by book publishers on his works and more are on the way. (Websites: www.stephengill.ca and www.stephengillcriticism.info )