Happy Thanksgiving, Eh!

Wanted to take a moment to wish all of my north of the border TransGriot readers a very happy Thanksgiving Day, Canadian style.

For those of you who aren't aware of it, once upon a time our Canadian cousins used to celebrate it in November. The Canadian Parliament in 1879 declared November 6 as a day of Thanksgiving and a national holiday. Over the years the date moved around and changed to become the third Monday in October.

The current fixed celebration date is a result of a January 31, 1957 proclamation by the Canadian Parliament.

'A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed.....to be observed on the second Monday in October.'

Ever since then it has been celebrated by our Canadian cousins on the second Monday in October. We Americans get our Thanksgiving grub on during the fourth Thursday of next month.

Hopefully that sheds some light on why we celebrate it at different times.

To my Canadian homegirl Renee, my former coworker, good friend and transplanted Newfie Paula, Michelle, Veronique, Linus, Mercedes and all my friends in the Great White North, may you and all your families have a blessed and low stress day filled with love, abundant blessings, and plentiful and tasty food. May you also have safe travels to and from your Thanksgiving holiday destinations.

That also applies for the rest of you Canucks reading this as well.

As you pause to take stock for all the blessings in your lives, I want to take a moment to thank you for surfing by TransGriot on a regular basis.

I also thank you for the blessings in my life that you peeps who proudly fly the maple leaf flag and who I'm pleased to call my friends bring to mine.

May the lines be speedy and relatively short at your local Timmy's when you get your coffee, breakfast sandwiches and donuts tomorrow morning.

Happy Thanksgiving, Peeps!

I know you Canadians got your Thanksgiving grub on last month. Now it's your south of the border cousins turn to partake of the turkey and dressing or whatever graces your dining table.

It's been an up and down year for me so far, but overall I have much to be thankful for. The trans community has seen the passage of one of our legislative crown jewels in the Byrd-Shepard Hate Crimes Bill and may get ENDA passed as well.

While violence against transpeople around the world spiked up, I'm still prayerfully hopeful that with the increased education and acceptance that will end.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my TransGriot readers. May your food be plentiful and delicious, your travels to and from wherever you're dining be stress free, your interactions with family and friends be filled with positivity and may your blessings for the rest of this year and 2010 be abundant.

Happy Thanksgiving, peeps!

Happy Thanksgiving, Renee (And All My Canadian Trans Peeps and Readers)

One of the wonderful things about the Internet is that no wonder where you live, from the comfort of your home you can take an informational journey around the world.

I've been blessed to have a lot of readers from Canada who peruse this blog. It's a fact I'm very proud of since I do have a broad international view of the transgender rights struggle.

Our Canadian cousins celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October. So on the occasion of my Canadian cousins getting their grub on today and giving thanks for the blessings in their lives, I wanted to take a moment to say thanks to my Canadian readers for spending your valuable web surfing time reading TransGriot.

I wanted to say a special thanks on this day to a person who has become a close friend and homegirl in Renee and her family. You have been a blessing in my life this year, and I give thanks to the Creator on this day for you being in mine.

Unfortunately one of the things at your dinner table won't be me or the cornbread recipe I owe you.

I also thank you for being a staunch ally and being in mine and the rest of the trans community's corner.

I also give thanks to peeps like Mercedes Allen, Dr. Miqqi Alicia Gilbert, Michelle Dumaresq, Linus, Micheline Montreuil, Victoria Stuart, Veronique, Elizabeth Tyler and countless other Canadian trans peeps and their allies. You are all doing your parts to fight for the rights of transpeople who reside inside the Great White North.

By doing the education, breaking barriers in Canadian society, making history and fighting the Forces of Intolerance, you drive home the simple points that Canada is your home and you are human beings deserving of all it has to offer.

So Happy Thanksgiving to all of you peeps north of the border.

Try not to eat too much turkey, eh?