JJ is really nailing the late 80's gym teacher look. That hair is glorious.

Those who think Canada is blameless don't know much about our history. And those who think Canada is terrible don't know much about the rest of the world

as an Albertan who grew up in an agricultural community and has a lot of farmers in my family i was always lead to believe that Canadian Thanksgiving was to celebrate the harvest. it made sense as to why it was celebrated earlier because of how soon winter comes out here.

I love how in the Anglosphere national holidays such as Canada day or U.S indepencence day are such happy celebrations with fireworks and bbq, and here in Finland the independence day is a melancholic day of patriotic rememberance on a usually rainy december day spent watching a sad warmovie on tv for the millionth time and criticising celebrty outfits at the presidential reception.

I’ve learned more about Canadian culture and history here in the last 3 months than the first 30 years of my life combined.

I feel like the United States handles Remembrance Day better by declaring it as "Veterans' Day" making remembering current Veterans the main focus. We have a separate day for remembering war dead, however Memorial Day in the US is more of a day off from work than it is as a solemn day of reflection.

Veterans' organizations like the American Legion also exist in the USA. They tend to restrict membership to veterans (especially World War vets, which also gives them a very "old people" vibe). In fact, many of the locations have interiors similar to the ones JJ referred to as outdated. Depending on the community, they can still be somewhat popular. In my town, they host fundraisers and fish fry dinners to help out the local area and preserve some historic sites.

That excerpt about Thanksgiving from the New Yorker was fantastic.

"In America, Thanksgiving is bigger than Christmas." *Laughs in Halloween-to-Christmas commercialism*

As a canadian, I never assumed Remembrance Day to be how it's claimed here. I always genuinely saw it as a day of reflection, and even cried several times, not just for canadians who fought and died in war, but all who were effected. It's not "nostalgia" for war. I even HAD an ancestor who was a war hero, whom I was barely able to meet in my toddler days. I really hope other people can feel me on this.

"He seemed to imply immigrants can't wear poppies. He is stepping down immediately." is the most Canadian controversy 😂

As an American, the main problem I see with Canada's Rememberance Day as it only seems to be about the World Wars and not about the other wars Canada fought in. Rememberance Day should be rebranded to include ALL of the wars Canadians lost their lives in, not just those two, which are growing more and more distant and their veterans are either dead or in their 90s.

“Simply doing an American thing in a way that is slightly different than what is done in America is usually enough to give something a sense of meaning in Canada.” Oof! 🤩

As an American I really love Thanksgiving in the US. I don’t know how much the narrative of pilgrims and Indians really matters to the holiday. For me and most people I know it really is about being thankful as family and as a society with what we have. I suppose my friendly neighborly advice to Canadians would be to embrace such a holiday as a holiday of gratitude. Gratitude is a healthy thing for a society to have. While I think it is important for both countries to work on addressing issues about racism and treatment of indigenous peoples, society also needs time to reflect on things to be thankful for positive things we’ve accomplished as well. Only focusing on the failings of society seems to me just as unhealthy as being jingoistic and ignoring injustices that need to be addressed.

Its funny because newfoundland had a war memorial day on July 1st which got overwritten by Canada day, so the atmosphere of Canada day in Newfoundland is extremely somber and tragic as opposed to jubilant in the rest of Canada. Newfoundland also has a bunch of other holidays that are not celebrated in the rest of Canada.

The idea of "veteran culture" being "old people culture" is very foreign to me as an American, for obvious reasons. My uncle served in Vietnam, and I entered adulthood with many friends who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now I live in Israel, where military service is mandatory and military service in general has ironically come to be associated with youthful immaturity (but the memorial day for fallen soldiers is _extremely_ serious and also inclusive of civilian deaths). I know Canada has not been absent from global conflict since the World Wars, so perhaps the issue is not so much one of remembrance itself being inherently backward-looking, but a failure to recognize it beyond what you describe as the standards of the British Empire.

I love how you always try and shed light on many perspectives on a topic even if you don't agree with them

I tend to miss out on any controversy on these holidays, since with my close-knit family, it's more "enjoy a stat day off and spend some time reflecting on family history." My mother's side of the family being post-WW2 Dutch immigrants, so our personal Remembrance Day is more focused on discussing/reflecting on my grandparents' struggles during WW2 and respecting the Canadians that helped liberate the Netherlands (having immigrated out of gratitude).

Question for Quebec-based JJ fans (all five of you): Is Remembrance Day at all a big deal in Quebec? With all the British symbolism it seems like it might be a bit of sore spot with French Canadians. If you still do stuff, do y'all focus less on WWI/WWII?

There is a reason that Remembrance Day focuses heavily on WW1 and WW2. Its simply about the scale of the wars and the effect they had, not only on soldiers, but un civilians, as well. During WW1 the population of Canada was around 8 million. 650,000 served, 172,000 were wounded, and 61,000 died. As a proportion of the population, it would have had a massive effect. It would be rare to find a Canadian that did not directly know someone who served, or was injured or killed. The story for WW2 would be very similar. Everyone knew someone involved. In Afghanistan, however, 40,000 people served and 158 died. With a population of 34 million at the time, most Canadians would not have known anyone involved. It hardly effected most people who watched it on the news, and for those who didn't pay attention to the news, it basically was like it wasn't even happening. In addition, the treat during the world wars was far greater than it was during more recent wars and conflicts. Even if the Germans had taken all of Europe, and stopped, the effect on us would be profound, since we were still heavily tied to the UK. Still, veterans from any war, or conflict Canada has been involved in, deserve our highest respect. Likewise for people who have served in our military, but who are not veterans of any wars. Without a military, you cannot have a nation, or, at least, you cannot have one for long. On the topic of poppies, any color but red is completely unacceptable. Why? Simply because tradition has value. Just because you can change something, that does not mean you should. This is not true for all traditions, but for many it is. Now, to be a bit more controversial. Canadians should also be thankful for the American military. They spend a ton of money on their military, and that has allowed us to spend far less. They have a vested interest in having a friendly neighbor on their longest border, and, as such, will immediately come to our aid in the event of any incursion into our territory. The rest of the world knows this, and, thus, does not threaten us.

Remembrance Day is about remembering the individuals, the soldiers themselves, not the glorification of war. It is essential we remember their sacrifice and the duty to one's country they displayed, no discussion; to debate removing these themes is to disrespect our war dead across the globe. That's how we've been looking at it in Britain for over a decade with services and documentaries showing more recent conflict victims as well to combat this view of nostalgic oldies, and yet Canada's continuous efforts to distance its heritage continues to unsettle me.

"The Canadian Fact Ministry presents, 'It's a Canadian Fact.'" "Did you know that Canadans celebrate Thanksgiving at the beginning of October, and yet Americans celebrate it at the end of November? That means we must have invented it because it comes first. Did you? It's a fact!" "Brought to you by Can-Fax, the Canadian Fact Ministry" --- SCTV, 1982

JJ is one of the few people on KZfaq who make really high-quality, educational content with expertise in the field. Your coverage of the topics is really differenced and logical, keep it up!

My family came to Canada from the Netherlands after WWII, I’ve always appreciated Remembrance Day through that lens, the Netherlands was liberated by Canada. I think all three of these holidays are beneficial, not to say Canada is or was perfect, but to show gratitude for what blessings we have today.

Here in Germany, Thanksgiving, or "Erntedank" (lit. 'Harvest Thank') is celebrated on the first Sunday of October or the first Sunday after the 29th of September depending on the church. If the region is dependent on something harvested on a different date, the date of the holiday may vary accordingly. It doesn't involve this American tradition of family dinner, it's just a church holiday to celebrate the harvest. There are usually decorations on the altar or next to it in the form of harvested wheat, fruits and flowers, often formed into beautiful pieces of art. For example crowns are a common theme. In other places it's just an old wagon wheel filled with harvest products. Which harvest products are used for the decorations depend mainly on the local agriculture. The holiday is not celebrated everywhere, mostly in rural communities.

For Remembrance Day I think expanding it to include more modern veterans like the Americans did would be perfectly fine. Thanksgiving has almost been completely forgotten as far as I've seen; I think in part to Halloween and Christmas' commercial overreach. Canada Day could also be expanded upon to include our far less savory history like opening local events with one aspect and closing with the other.

The way you described the discussion around Remembrance Day resembles a MUCH more milder version of the discussions around the celebration of 9th of May in Russia, it's former territories and the russian ussian-speaking diaspora. The point about veterans=old people is especially poignant because that is how many people of my and my parent's generation stereotype what a veteran is, even though since then there have been lots of wars in this part of the world. At least you don't have an aging autocrat who has made the holiday a loyalty parade to his regime. P.S. As a slav, i respect you Adidas game, JJ.

I’m not one to question about why we have our own version of Thanksgiving, I just want some damn good turkey. And the fact that it’s early in October the same month as Halloween goes to show why October is my favourite month.

To answer JJ’s question, I think above anything else it is Canada Day which has received the most overblown backlash. I’m a pretty progressive guy, and I was truly disheartened by the discovery of the residential school graves these past years. But as I remarked to others while discussing Canada Day, surely there can be at least one day of the year - one day out of 365 where we can enjoy ourselves and celebrate living in a country such as Canada. Certainly not a perfect nation, but one where tens of thousands of people immigrate to yearly specially to escape war, poverty, and oppression.

Thanksgiving in the US is popular for one reason because it is always on a Thursday, and most employers give Friday off as well so you get a nice big fat four day weekend out of it.

I would agree, Canadian Thanksgiving always had a very "Going through the motions" feel in my childhood. In my family, we would always get together with the cousins and grandparents at least once every 3-4 months, and Canadian Thanksgiving always just fit in a good spot between Christmas and a summer Get together.

Also the "Discovery" of Child graves isn't actually new, but was known for many years. Just the blinders have come off and people are accepting it as a tragic reality

An interesting perspective on Canada day comes from newcomers. My parents came from Peru in 1989 and are extremely grateful to this country due to the rights, access to resources, and genuine opportunity they've never experienced before. My parents drilled into me a deep love for modern Canada and not much attention at all to its history. I became personally conflicted about my feelings towards Canada Day after I visited a reserve for the first time. It really felt like I was in a different country even though I was just an hour away from the town I grew up. It blows my mind how the same country that can save the lives of millions from around the world can't provide clean drinking water to the people it committed genocide against.

I don't know if there's anything that unites Canadians other than a shared insecurity/anxiety about American cultural, economic, and political influence over us. Ironically for a country that claims to uphold the liberal ideals of free trade and multiculturalism, we're weirdly xenophobic towards the United States.

Most of those problems sound petty and something Twitter would drum up.

I've always assumed Canadian Thanksgiving was in October because it gets way too cold by late November. Kind of like how the Grey Cup Championship happens in November while the Superbowl doesn't happen till February. (I'll go download Ground News now, by the way)

My mother used to take us around on poppy day collecting donations for veterans. I am from California. My dad was a WW2 vet in the Amercan Legion. It's not just a Canadian/British thing.

I grew up in BC (born in the mid-90s) and I was always taught that Thanksgiving was literally just a festival to celebrate the harvest and give thanks for it. It's celebrated earlier because winter comes earlier in Canada.

We have a similar controversy around Australia Day however it's made even more controversial by it being a celebration of the beginning of British colonisation rather than when we became independent.

random person: canada is just mini usa canadian government: so you have chosen death

I really like the way JJ shows how people in the US and Canada are a lot closer linked mentally than we at first think we are. The phrase, “not many Canadians know the history of the country” absolutely resonates with me. I live in the Colorado and most people who live here seem to think that the Hispanic people that live here now immigrated after white people or are in some other way illegals. No one ever thinks about how Colorado used to be part of Spain for a good long while. Or how part of the state used to be Mexico. Anyways, keep up the great work on fun and engaging topics please! :-) -subscribbled-

You are amazing. I love your videos because I can educate myself about my beloved Canada. Hugs from Montreal 😊

When I was 13 years old I was in cadets and I’ve honestly done over 60 hours of community service as a CHILD. Because I had nothing but respect for the people I thought were “veterans”. Come to find out that 90% of them were probably just these “over decorated civilians” who people mistake for vets. I can’t believe I gave those legions as much free labor as I did. And I wouldn’t have done it unless my thought process the whole time was “I’m helping these veterans who are less capable than I, because they are the only reason I stand here free today” come to find out only a small handful of those men were actually veterans who actually deserved their praise

As a Canadian living in Canada, I had no idea there was controversy over these holidays.

Would love to see a video about the Maritimes someday. Feels like we're often forgotten about down here.

Suprised you never brought up Victoria’s day since even when we don’t realize why it’s called that or why we celebrate a dead queen’s birthday, we just find this as an opportunity to light up fireworks.

Excellent video as always and I look forward to new Saturday JJ posts. I always learn something I didn't know and it's so impressive the time and effort you put into your content. So, thank you! In case you didn't know you are very much appreciated! ❤🙂

Man I had never considered what war remembrance and veteran culture is like in other countries, I always assumed it would be similar to the USA. Here, there is not near as much clash or conflict between young and old veterans - I remember seeing a younger Afghan or Desert Storm vet greet a Vietnam vet at a gas station on a summer day in Oregon, saying “Welcome Home” to the Vietnam vet. The older vet reciprocated and they sat down and talked for a while. I remember it as touching, especially considering the view that many hold or held of Vietnam veterans.

To me it seems that Canadian/Commonwealth "Remembrance Day" would be like if the United States mashed together Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Veterans Day is, of course, intended to honor living veterans of American wars be they WWII vets, Korea vets, Vietnam vets, or Gulf War/WoT vets. And then Memorial Day (which was meant originally to commemorate Civil War dead IIRC) honors specifically those killed in action or taken as prisoners of war. I think when compared to Remembrance Day, these two holidays are able to continuously evolve because they aren't necessarily tied to the traditions/customs of a single war or time period. Like the US still has the American Legion/Veterans of Foreign Wars involved in ceremonies for these holidays (and the former is pretty old-fashioned still, from what I can tell), but there isn't this sort "frozen-in-amber" effect like what you see with Remembrance Day and WWI/WWII nostalgia. And no one (unless it's a very specific "our armed forces over the years" kind of celebration) is wearing Union kepis or WWI-style uniforms at celebrations/events.

I would say American Thanksgiving is way more controversial than Canadian Thanksgiving, mostly because of the historical mythology built up around it. In fact, many American holidays, like Columbus Day and Independence Day, have become extremely politicised in recent years to a far greater extent than these Canadian holidays.

"Canadians don't know much about their own history." So bold of a statement yet so true. I'm American and I feel that most all of my American friends can recite their country's history pretty easily. My Canadian friends can never do the same for Canada. Its interesting.

Here in New Zealand, we have two holidays for remberence. November 11th, Armistice Day is about the many Kiwi soldiers who died in the First World War. But we also have ANZAC Day on April 25th which has become a holiday used to commemorate all New Zealand and Australian soldiers who died in combat, served in combat or are currently serving. ANZAC Day holds a much more significant idea as it's a holiday that shows the brotherhood between the Kiwis and Aussies, the one day where we put our jokes aside and remember those who fought under our flags. April 25th itself is the day the ANZAC Troops landed in Gallipoli beach in WW1, a battle seen as one of the biggest in our history.

"Backwards looking" is not so bad, for without history we are doomed to repeat. It is nice to see the increase of attendees at ceremonies. Cheers.

I'm Canadian, and I always thought Thanksgiving was a harvest celebration. Because its right around that prime time of harvesting potatoes, squashes, hunting season, etc. It comes after a fruitful summer and acts as a fattening festival in preparation of those loooong canadian winters. I find it a rather significant part of our culture in that way. Being thankful for a bountiful harvest just lights the way through those dark winters. And Christmas connects with it as a Solstice celebration, when we finally get over that hill, and the sun starts coming back, and adding more minutes of daylight until summer.

In Newfoundland, July 1 is not only Canada Day, but also Memorial Day. Which is our own “remembrance day” to commemorate WW1 Beaumont Hammel, where the Dominion of Newfoundland basically lost an entire generation of young men, known as the Royal Newfoundland Regiment

Personally I love remembrance day. It is my favorite Holiday and I believe it is very important. That being said I did not know some of the issues behind the legion. As a history buff I love the focus on history and deffently don't think we should forget the past but also I undertand some of the issues this creates. Great video

Here in Quebec we have a weird relationship with Canada Day. Our provincial holyday is on the week prior (June 24th), so on Canada Day many use the holyday to move in and out or their house/apartment. It became kind of our moving holyday. If you start renting an appartment, in most cases, the lease will be effective starting July 1st to reflect that.

I honestly thought the only reason why Canadian Thanksgiving was in October instead of late November was because it's already cold AF in late november and the holiday has more of an Autumn feel to it.

I saw the title and instantly clicked wondering if JJ would bring up Don Cherry’s infamous rant. Was not disappointed. Edit: awesome to hear the voice of Knowing Better!

Ah I LOVE this. Favourite video of the year, easily. You've done so much to help this prairie-dwelling millennial Canadian understand the weird quirks of this odd country we live in. Wishing you the best of holidays and new year!

I love you J.J. but you’re wrong about American Thanksgiving being “patriotic”. As an American i can firmly say I was never taught thanksgiving was to be patriotic. Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful for what you have, the family and friends around you, and the joys you find in yourself. Thats not patriotic.

As a Canadian haven't heard of too many of these holiday controversies.

what a fantastic segment - can't believe I'm so late to discover your channel!

My spouse and I were in Vancouver in mid-October back in 2012 for our honeymoon. As Americans, we were completely unaware of a Canadian Thanksgiving prior to traveling, and were interested to know more about it. We asked several people along the way how it was celebrated, and the answer was invariably "the same as American Thanksgiving." The answer to the question of what it's about caused a bit of confusion with the folks we asked who mostly didn't have an answer, though one or two did say a general "The Harvest," which seemed to suffice.

Thanksgiving originally celebrated harvest. It was a meal. It doesn’t represent native genocide.

To be honest I find the idea of celebrating our war heroes to be less supporting the troops, and more glossing over the stupidity of armed conflict, especially our roles in WW1 and in Afghanistan, as if we really wanted to support the troops, we'd support programs that actually helped them instead of saying the words, only to decide against funding any kind of aid that could help them readjust to peaceful society.

Hi JJ! ☺️ As one of your southwestern neighbor (I am a native Californian), I found it amusing you used a scene from "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" in background in the closing seconds, since it has an American *November* staple on our television screens since it first aired on CBS (*Columbia Broadcasting System) since 1973). 😉 Nice Easter egg there!

I really appreciate how you presented both sides, especially regarding the Remembrance Day conversation.

The equivalent to those Legion places here in Australia, the RSL, has a similar reputation of not being that helpful for modern veterans, but even worse is that their clubs generally just become venues for slot machines - so they get seen as a place where the elderly just go and gamble away pensions, with the positive spin on it being that at least the profits support the charitable causes of helping veterans. The Canadian equivalent seems slightly more harmless in that regard.

Hey, don't come for Thanksgiving (as it celebrated sans lore in Canada). I love it's "blandness," actually. Nothing beats a nice meal simply because you have some time off and have family together. To focus solely on gratitude can make for a rich time of contemplation, especially around a time of year where the autumnal colours are at their height in several parts of the country. It's (by a large margin) my favourite holiday.

As a Canadian farm kid I was raised to understand thanksgiving simply to be celebrating the bountiful harvest. However my dad was rarely there because our thanksgiving is too early and takes place while the harvest is ongoing. And ironic humour which made me always think the Americans were smarting for their timing

I am from Detroit, and we hold a joint celebration with Windsor Ontario every summer on the closest weekend to the 1st and 4th of July. We call it the International Freedom Festival, the fireworks are shot over the river, and there are great views of them from both sides of the border. I dont think there is a similar celebration anywhere else.

Growing up in the UK I always got the impression that the poppy and Remembrance Day were very much meant to emphasise how bad war was, not to glamourise it.

Love this video! I would like to see your take on the recently introduced "holiday" Family Day (in Ontario - i know it's called other things in other provinces... if observed at all).

I'm 56 years old, and I've seen the prominence of those holidays change over my lifetime. Canadian Thanksgiving has never been as big a deal as US Thanksgiving. It's often just a convenient 3-day weekend for getting a lot of garden work done. I didn't realize what a big deal Thanksgiving was in the US until the 1990s when I worked for a company with mainly US customers. Then I realized, with a shock, that in the US Thanksgiving is the main holiday where people travel to visit their families (whereas Christmas plays that role in most Western nations). When I was growing up the the 1970s, there were still many very old World War 1 veterans around, and most WW2 veterans were middle-aged. As I was in the Scouts, Remembrance Day was a big deal for me, and I took part in the annual parade and remembrance ceremony at the cenotaph. Today there are few WW2 veterans left, and Remembrance Day commemorations have become noticeably less predominant. My town stopped having parades three years ago, a move reinforced by the pandemic. I remember before the mid-1970s Dominion Day was also a rather relaxed holiday, but with the rise of Separatism in Quebec, the Federal government began to pump large amounts of money into Dominion Day / Canada Day celebrations. In Quebec we have St-Jean-Baptiste and Canada Day a week apart. St-Jean always seemed to be the more "sincere" holiday, and Canada Day rather fake and forced, but even in recent years, with the decline of the Separatist movement in Quebec, St-Jean has also seemed to be rather fake and forced. By the Way, St-Jean is a very ancient pagan holiday celebrating the summer solstice, that was first appropriated by the Catholic Church, then in Quebec, more recently, appropriated by the Separatist movement. That's a holiday that I would like to see return to its traditional roots, where people would just make a big bonfire in every village or neighborhood and sing and dance around it all night. It was still like that 30 years ago in rural Quebec.

your hair keeps getting better and better!! seeing you I regret cutting off my mullet 😅

(This comment is completely refrencing the comment made about younger veterans not joining the Legion) When I was a kid my father, grandfather, and uncle were all part of the local Legion, and all had been in the military. Most members there were veterans. As a kid I had wanted to be part of the Legion one day. Eventually I grew up, served in the military, and when I was in the process of getting out, was going to join the Legion. I found in my starting the joining process that I was not feeling overly welcome. In the end, I did not join. A few years later I ran into an old army buddy who was also out. Apparently that particular branch was known for not being particularly welcoming of veterans, and a number of members, including him, at his branch transfered from that branch, due to not feeling welcome. So it is not just an uphill battle to get younger members, it kind of feels like some branches are actually acting as gate keepers to keep out vets.

Interesting - I live near two Veterans of Foreign Wars meeting halls and I get the idea that veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq are not really interested in being involved in that.

As an American I’m not very familiar with these Canadian holidays, so I don’t know how to feel about them. But I want to thank you JJ for education me about the history of these holidays. I really enjoy all your cultual videos!

Happy holidays JJ McCullough ❤️💛💚

if people are ashamed of being form a country then what justifies it's existence? If you cancel Canada day you may as well make Canada part of the US

I Really Like The Concepts Of J.J.’s Videos! :)

Thanks giving for me growing up was all about giving thanks to the things you’re grateful for, like family, food, shelter etc.

I still don’t understand why remembrance day is controversial. Last year I was worked in a elementary school and I got some comments from parents about me wearing the poppy and explaining to kids when they asked about it. That’s like denying 9/11 happened or the Holocaust just because you want to “protect kids”. A war happened and many people died, whether you like it or not. You can spare the gruesome details, but hiding history from kids and to not teach them how future generations can do better is just dumb. And harmful. Kids aren’t stupid. There is absolutely nothing else to it.

How is Canadian Thanksgiving a controversial holiday? It's acknowledged that harvest thanksgiving celebrations were common in England, and have never had the political and patriotic symbolism that Thanksgiving does in the United States. He acknowledges that the whole 'Pilgrim & Indian feast' myth in American Thanksgiving is "total BS" (his words, not mine), and yet he seems to be arguing that by declining to celebrate this particular version of Thanksgiving in November (!), Canadians are suffering in internal denial and...controversy. A harvest thanksgiving celebration in a northern country in mid-October, with virtually no political, patriotic, or sectarian mythology, may be one of the least 'controversial' holidays on the planet. There is likely much more controversy in the US about their Thanksgiving than in Canada about ours.

This was an amazing video JJ! Regarding Canada day: My parents and I moved to Canada in 1997 because my mom and dad, being serbian and croatian respectively, did not feel safe anywhere in post-yugoslavia. I am extremely thankful they chose that as I genuinely think I am better off for the experiences that I've had here and that I could only really have here. I think a lot of immigrants have similar stories and I honestly believe there is a positive aspect of Canada that is worth celebrating on Canada day. But I also think there is room for reflection on Canada day as well. Even my positive experience in Canada could easily be attributed to a system that causes real harm to others. As an anecdote that really sticks out in my head - in 2017 I was living in Ottawa at the time of the 150th Canada day, and I remember seeing posters all around my neighbourhood saying "150 years of always being nice". This in no unambigous terms completely rules out any form of self-reflection. I just couldn't help but think of it as nation-level gaslighting of the past 150 years and the people who would walk past a poster like that and vehemently disagree with the notion. This is all to say that, as is so often case, reality is rarely black and white and I think this video nails that aspect of each one of these holidays.

Thanksgiving has always been simply a day to get together and celebrate family and think of that which we are thankful for. Never thought too deep into it

Insightful as always. Thanks for the content.

I find Thanksgiving and Remembrance Day to be more of family-/community-centred holidays (in Ontario, the latter is not even a statutory holiday, so people are usually at work) that do not aim to address some fundamental issue. Canada Day, on the other hand, tries to be the exclusive wholesale provider of Canadiana with many openly American traditions being used. In my opinion, this is the most American of Canada's holidays, both in its traditional interpretation and customs. I think you overlooked another major holiday - Victoria Day. This is a much older public holiday which is still celebrated across Canada. It is also the holiday that has completely lost its established celebratory customs. I think, this could be an interesting comparison to those newer official holidays.

This lack of enthusiasm is probably why I never realized that Canada even had holidays.

As an American - I was raised that Thanksgiving is primarily a fall harvest celebration and a reminder to take time to connect with family. Similarly, xmas for winter, Easter for Spring, and July 4th for summer. This was my parents (mostly my mom's) practice and I think it's a healthy way for the tradition to evolve - lose some of the more recent and artificial cultural trappings, and recognize these events are really just filling the gaps left by the abandonment of pagan traditions.

Good stuff JJ, thanks. I rarely comment on KZfaq videos, but you have given me some things to think about today.

It's interesting to hear the Canadian take on the poppy controversy. Similar sentiments exist in the UK, indeed to an even greater extent. Many see the act of refusing to wear a poppy as an act of treason. Here in Northern Ireland, while most of the Protestant/Unionist community wears the poppy, nearly all the Catholic/Nationalist community refuses to wear it as (1) it's seen as a symbol of Unionism or British Imperialism and (2) the selling of poppies raises funds for the Royal British Legion, a charity that supports British veterans. There's a Catholic/Nationalist footballer (soccer player) from my home city of Derry named James McClean who plays in the English leagues and always receives a lot of hate in the British press (and I mean seriously hateful stuff) for refusing to wear a poppy. He's explained that he does so because of Bloody Sunday in 1972, when British soldiers killed 14 peaceful protestors on an anti-internment march. And yet, every year, the hate from the British press arrives like clockwork.

As an active serving member of the CAF I really enjoyed your takes on Remembrance Day. Your point of Remembrance Day being static I don't find too true, especially if you attend a ceremony run by a base. Often they recognize the Korean War and Afghanistan in their speeches as well. I haven't attended one in a town away from a base in many years, so I can't say if that's true elsewhere or not.

jj i love your looks so much you give me lots of inspiration for longer hairsytles/facial hair if I ever get the courage to start growing it out; ty for the really informative work you do

Your videos are always so well done. You totally deserve the 560k subs.

One quick obnoxious “umm, actually,” the Wampanoag tribe is pronounced “wam-pah-nog,” not “wam-pah-no-ag.” Great video as always

The purpose of Thanksgiving is to give thanks to God for the harvest; that is why ours is in October, since harvesting your crops at the end of November in Canada would lead to a lot of dead crops.

Thanks for this! I don't live in Canada, but this helped me learned about a new culture! ^^

Your videos are so insightful thank you!