Happy Thanksgiving 2008

From wiki:

Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. It is primarily a North American holiday which has generally become a national secular holiday with religious origins.

The date and location of the first Thanksgiving celebration is a topic of modest contention. Though the earliest attested Thanksgiving celebration was on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida, the traditional "first Thanksgiving" is venerated as having occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621.

Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members.

from wikianswers:

Q: How did Thanksgiving become a national holiday?

A: It is on a Thursday in November in a year a long time ago

This question has alot of history behind it - allow me to tersely recapitulate such: On 11/23/39, FDR carved the the turkey at the annual Thanksgiving dinner in Georgia. However, up until this date, most Americans had celebrated Thanksgiving on 11/30.

During FDR's administration, Thanksgiving was not a fixed Holiday - it was up to the present President to declare what date Thanksgiving would be held that year in November.

When Lincoln had been President, he observed Thanksgiving on the last Thursday in November and declared it a national holiday in 1863.

However, during the Great depression, FDR found it difficult to observe Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November.

During the great depression, FDR was approached to make Thanksgiving held on the 4th Thursday of November to allow more time for people to shop for X-mas. In 1939, FDR moved the Holiday one week up.

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To my family, to my friends, to the readers of this blog, to the denizens of cyberspace, to all who can hear me within the sound of my voice:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

May we be thankful for what we have and not complain about what we don't!