Canada celebrated their first thanksgiving in 1578, while the first American thanksgiving was in 1621. Canadas first celebration was to give thanks for safe passage across the ocean. Whereas the US thanksgiving was initially celebrated by the Wampanoag people for many years before the white people came to the Americas and when the pilgrims made peace with the Wampanoag people, by exchanging European weapons for food from the natives. They then celebrated thanksgiving together for the bountiful harvest that they had that year.