ADTA President's Blog

Happy Thanksgiving ADTA Nation!

The other day Karen and I were watching the news at dinnertime. There was a story about when the fourth Thursday of November became the "official" Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. Karen of course knew all about it; I stared blankly at the TV and wondered (again) why she puts up with me. 

So to remedy my abject ignorance I went to Wikipedia to learn more. (Where else? If it's on the internet, it must be true.) Here is what I found out not only about Thanksgiving in the United States, but also about the celebration of the holiday in Canada:

The reason for the earlier Thanksgiving celebrations in Canada has often been attributed to the earlier onset of winter in the north, thus ending the harvest season earlier.^[23] Thanksgiving in Canada did not have a fixed date until the late 19th century. Prior to Canadian Confederation, many of the individual colonial governors of the Canadian provinces had declared their own days of Thanksgiving. The first official Canadian Thanksgiving occurred on April 15, 1872,^[24] when the nation was celebrating the Prince of Wales' recovery from a serious illness.^[23] By the end of the 19th century, Thanksgiving Day was normally celebrated on November 6. However, when World War I ended, the Armistice Day holiday was usually held during the same week. To prevent the two holidays from clashing with one another, in 1957 the Canadian Parliament proclaimed Thanksgiving to be observed on its present date on the second Monday of October.^[6] Since 1971, when the American Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect, the American observance of Columbus Day has coincided with the Canadian observance of Thanksgiving.^[25][26]

Much as in Canada, Thanksgiving in the United States was observed on various dates throughout history. From the time of the Founding Fathers until the time of Lincoln, the date Thanksgiving was observed varied from state to state. The final Thursday in November had become the customary date in most U.S. states by the beginning of the 19th century. Thanksgiving was first celebrated on the same date by all states in 1863 by a presidential proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. Influenced by the campaigning of author Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote letters to politicians for around 40 years trying to make it an official holiday, Lincoln proclaimed the date to be the final Thursday in November in an attempt to foster a sense of American unity between the Northern and Southern states.^[27] Because of the ongoing Civil War and the Confederate States of America's refusal to recognize Lincoln's authority, a nationwide Thanksgiving date was not realized until Reconstruction was completed in the 1870s.

On December 26, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a joint resolution of Congress changing the national Thanksgiving Day from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday. Two years earlier, Roosevelt had used a presidential proclamation to try to achieve this change, reasoning that earlier celebration of the holiday would give the country an economic boost.

You can click here for the entire Wikipedia piece.

And so before I go any further, 1,000 aopologies to our Canadian colleagues and their families for my failure to wish you all a Happy Canadian Thanksgiving on October 23rd. Henceforth I shall try to remember the significance of the second Monday in October to those of you who reside in beautiful Canada! 

Regardless of its origin, Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday. It is a day to celebrate with and for each other, and to give thanks for the many blessings God has bestowed upon us.

I don't believe the meaning of this holiday can be expressed any better than this, by ADTA's own Dan Kohane yesterday on Facebook:

Have I told anyone lately that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday? Those who know me best, know that this has been my mantra for years. This is a holiday designed to remind us of our blessings. It is non-commercial, requires or necessitates no gifting, and is simply a time to get together, as a family of eclectics, to rejoice in what we have. To you, my friends, I wish you the happiest of Thanksgivings. Celebrate your families and rejoice in your friendships.

Amen. God bless all of you, wherever you are!

Happy Thanksgiving, ADTA Nation!