CELEBRATING THANKSGIVING

It may seem like only yesterday that Jefferson County residents were shooting off fireworks and celebrating the birth of the Nation and it certainly doesn’t feel like much time has passed since trick or treaters were knocking on the door. Believe it or not, it is time for Thanksgiving and all the accompaniments that traditionally come with the holiday. Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November, though that was not always the case. The first Thanksgiving was in 1621 and until 1863 it was not a National Holiday, though it was celebrated in individual states and colonies. President Lincoln made Thanksgiving a National Holiday during the height of the Civil War. The push for a National Thanksgiving came largely from the author of “Mary had a Little Lamb”, Sarah Hale. After years of lobbying for Thanksgiving, Hale convinced Lincoln that the holiday was a way to unite the people during the war. President Lincoln set Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November and it remained there until 1939. President Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in the hopes of stimulating holiday sales during the Great Depression. This move was met with ire across the United States and became known as “Franksgiving”. In 1941 the holiday was moved to its permanent home of the fourth Thursday in November. Thanksgiving has lost some of the traditional religious influences over the years and public perception, thanks to good marketing, now associates the holiday more closely with turkey, pre shopping and parades than church. Thanksgiving also has the distinction of being sandwiched between the two heaviest travel days of the year. The day before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after Thanksgiving will find millions on the roads and in the air traveling to and from their destinations. Known as a time of family, feast and, in recent decades, football, Thanksgiving is a much anticipated holiday in the United States. In a recent survey, it was determined that 64% of Americans will watch football on Thanksgiving and more than half will play board games. Half of the families that cook for the holiday will begin two or three days in advance and of those that are guests more than 80% will bring a hostess gift or a side dish to the festivities. More than half of the people surveyed said that they have a second helping of Thanksgiving dinner and 41% confess that they take a nap on Thanksgiving Day.