Thanksgiving is always on the fourth Thursday. Since most Novembers have only four Thursdays – it only has a fifth Thursday if the month starts on a Wednesday or Thursday – I’m a little surprised you have not noticed this before.
The rule used to be that Thanksgiving was the last Thursday in November. This was changed to the fourth Thursday in November in 1939 by FDR in order to extend the Christmas shopping season. (That year there were five Thursdays in November.) In 1940 and 1941 he declared Thanksgiving to be the third Thursday in November (those years there were four). By 1942, it was settled that Thanksgiving would always be the fourth Thursday in November.
Well if you’ve been alive long enough, the rules have changed. You mention several lifetimes so maybe.
Lincoln declared the first national Thanksgiving in 1863 on the final Thursday in November (11/26/1863). Succeeding Presidents followed his example and named the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving until 1939. That year November had five Thursdays and Roosevelt declared the fourth one Thanksgiving. His intention was to move it to the next to last Thursday to try to stimulate Christmas shopping in the midst of the Great Depression.
Many people were upset. Some states declared traditional Thanksgiving some did not. The US celebrated Republican Thanksgiving on the last Thursday and Franksgiving on the next to last. This continued in 1940-1. In 1941, the House passed a bill making the (traditional) last Thursday in November the federal holiday of Thanksgiving. The Senate amended the bill to make the fourth Thursday Thanksgiving. This bill was passed and signed to take effect in 1942.
Some states continued to celebrate the last Thursday. Texas was the last to come into line in 1956.
So if you remember way back then, then yes the rules have changed.
I’ve been surprised at some of the business stories I’ve been reading that note how retailers are worried about what they’re calling the ‘shortened holiday shopping season.’ It’s a couple of days. But since this is when retailers make most of their money I guess it’s a big deal.
Yeah, I’ve been chronically comatose about some things. I’m the ghost of that 500+ year-old clam they dredged up. Age doesn’t equal wisdom when you’re a clam.
Thanks everybody for the clarifications. Ignorance foughten.
I thank Senegoid for asking this question. For some reason I thought Thanksgiving was always on the 24th of November - I had no idea it shuffles around each year.
Though now I’m wondering why it’s on a Thursday - if it isn’t set to a particular date, why not shift it to Friday and have a 3 day weekend? Or do y’all call in sick for work on Friday and have a 4 day weekend?
I was thinking it’s on a lunar calendar like the Jewish holidays, which also shuffle around each year (on the Christian calendar). That’s why Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah are always on the same day.
Quite a few employers actually include Friday as a holiday. That is unless you work retail or food service, then you are forced into salve labor. Many people also use up some vacation time by taking Friday off in order to get the prolonged four day weekend.
For many, many years I thought Thanksgiving was on the last Thursday of the month. Because most of the time it works out that way. Then one year I got quite surprised that it fell a week early. That’s when I learned it was the *fourth *Thursday of the month.
The Friday after Thanksgiving is a state holiday in Florida. That triggers an automatic day off for me, since I get all state and federal holidays. My past jobs didn’t specifically call out tracking the state and federal holidays, but I’ve always had the day after Thanksgiving off as a paid holiday.
Schools where I grew up in West Texas always let out at 12 noon on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, and stayed closed until the following Monday. Why they never let everyone off for all of Wednesday I have no idea, but they should have, seeing how many students skipped that morning anyway.
Sometimes Wednesday is off, sometimes it isn’t. The trouble with not making it an official holiday is that half of your employees or students will just call in sick anyway to get the 5-day weekend. The trouble with making it an official holiday is that then, half of your employees or students will call in sick on both Monday and Tuesday for a 9-day weekend.
Many people also use up some vacation time by taking Friday off in order to get the prolonged four day weekend.