It came upon an October night clear

It's, like, HolidayFest™ in North America today.

Here in the States, it's the Monday Holiday version of Columbus Day. Younger readers may be shocked to learn that this celebration does not, in fact, mark the birthday of the man who directed the first two Harry Potter films.

We here at SSTOL prefer — after the model of the late, great comedic genius Flip Wilson — to memorialize this date as Not Having Been Discovered Yet Day.

While we in the former Colonies sing Columbus Day carols (my personal favorites are "O Come, All Ye Europeans" and "O Little Isle of San Salvador") and burn the traditional effigies of the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, our neighbors in the Great White North are enjoying Thanksgiving Day — the Canadians not yet having become hip to the fact that Thanksgiving is actually in November.

Perhaps they figure that, now that U.S.-based teams have won the last eleven consecutive Stanley Cups, the only way they can get one up on us is to beat us to the Thanksgiving punch.

Or maybe they're just eager to express their gratitude for our taking William Shatner off their hands.