(From the WSJ.com, Melanie Kirkpatrick)
Last I checked, Thanksgiving is still scheduled to take place Thursday. The economic news may be gloomy, but unlike President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression, President Barack Obama has not tinkered with the date of the holiday.
In 1939, FDR decided to move Thanksgiving Day forward by a week. Rather than take place on its traditional date, the last Thursday of November, he decreed that the annual holiday would instead be celebrated a week earlier.
The reason was economic. There were five Thursdays in November that year, which meant that Thanksgiving would fall on the 30th. That left just 20 shopping days till Christmas. By moving the holiday up a week to Nov. 23, the president hoped to give the economy a lift by allowing shoppers more time to make their purchases and—so his theory went—spend more money.
Roosevelt made his decision in part on advice from Secretary of Commerce Harry Hopkins, who was in turn influenced by Lew Hahn, general manager of the Retail Dry Goods Association. Hahn had warned Hopkins that the late Thanksgiving, Nov. 30, might have an "adverse effect" on the sale of "holiday goods."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704888404574548082613991744.html
This year marks the 64th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation. Though live Thanksgiving turkeys have been presented intermittently to presidents since the Lincoln administration, the current ceremony dates to 1947, when the first National Thanksgiving Turkey was presented to President Harry Truman.
So while they say not to talk about religion or politics around the Thanksgiving Day table, call this entire post the Political Warrior cornucopia of political/historical/religious/culture info to impress your guest this Turkey Day.
On Wednesday, November 23, 2011, President Obama will pardon two National Thanksgiving Turkeys from Minnesota in a ceremony in the Rose Garden. Both birds will live out their days at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate. The President will celebrate the 64th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation, reflect upon the time-honored traditions of Thanksgiving, and wish American families a warm, safe, and healthy holiday. If last year's embeded ceremony below, you can watch the TBN (To be named National Turkeys live at http://www.whitehouse.gov/.
Happy Thanksgiving.....I'm thankful for your blogging comments!
2 comments:
Turkey pardoning: perfect example of the president using his chief citizen role by taking part with his daughters in a ceremonial role of protecting one the most important symbols of thanksgiving. Obama also uses the ceremony to give well wishes for all citizens for Thanksgiving.
As with moving thanksgiving further a week earlier to boost holiday sales, I do not see Obama would take that action to generate sales for business. Stores are opening earlier on black Friday, at the expense of workers who must give up spending time with their families during the holiday to help crowds that wait in line for days. Many crowds that storm into the stores can be rowdy and violent. Economists have been speculating 34% of consumers will shop on black Friday which is 8% more than from 2009 according to the Wall Street Journal. Moving Thanksgiving a week earlier would not influence all consumers to buy gifts earlier, as many people still would shop at the last minute hours before Dec 25th.
I have to agree with Kyle, this is a perfect example of the chief citizen role of presidency.
Hate to be a downer, but, to me this seems a little pointless.
Just a few days after his congress proved to him that they can get nothing done together, Obama is out speaking on unity and thanksgiving and such? Notice that no other politicians are up their with him, just his daughters.
I love thanksgiving, but i really think he should be worrying about other things right now.
Plus, all this is doing is taking away two perfect turkeys from starving Americans. Just saying. Happy Franksgiving everybody!
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