Do you observe Thanksgiving?

[Paul Farquhar]

Because our current Thanksgiving isn’t directly tied to the harvest. The holiday as we know it today wasn’t finalized until the 20th century when it was fixed to a particular day.

But why choose that particular day?

 

[Parmandur]

But why choose that particular day?

It was part of the economic stimulus plan President Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt introduced to turn the Great Depression around. It is designed to soup up the Christmas spending season, and has worked for nearly 100 years to do so.

 

[Cadence]

It was part of the economic stimulus plan President Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt introduced to turn the Great Depression around. It is designed to soup up the Christmas spending season, and has worked for nearly 100 years to do so.

Didn't Roosevelt want it even earlier than it is now? (I want to say it didn't particularly bump sales when he changed it?) I thought Lincoln picked a late Thursday in November? (And then there was an issue when it fell on the last day of the month iirc).

 

[Parmandur]

Didn't Roosevelt want it even earlier than it is now? (I want to say it didn't particularly bump sales when he changed it?) I thought Lincoln picked a late Thursday in November? (And then there was an issue when it fell on the last day of the month iirc).

OK, now I went down the rabbit hole.

November 25, 1783 was the day when British forces left New York City, and was widely celebrated as a holiday, Evacuation Day, for nearly 100 years, along with earlier Calvinist originating Thanksgiving celebrations celebrated at the state level in late Novrmber usually. Lincoln solidified combining those two on the Federal level, and Roosevelt tried to change the date to thw third Thursday for commercial purposes and failed ("Franksgiving").

So, the date seems to be largely "forget the British army, neiner neiner"