A modest Thanksgiving proposal
By Vivek Krishnamurthy
As I sit here all alone in my apartment in New Haven on this American Thanksgiving day, the victim of high holiday-season airfares and a crushing law school workload, I'd like to make a very modest Thanksgiving proposal. No, I'm not about to condemn the consumption of turkey as cruel to animals and human waistlines, or call for the cancellation of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade because it is an extravagant use of helium. I just think that Americans should celebrate Thanksgiving earlier in the fall -- say at the beginning of November, rather than at the end.
The driving force behind my proposal is the notion that American Thanksgiving as currently scheduled is just too close to Christmas. Given that people generally go through the trouble and expense of travelling home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, doesn't it make sense to distribute the holidays a little further apart, so that you can recover from the last family visit before being subjected to them again?
The same theme of recovery extends to the central aspect of both modern Thanksgiving and Christmas observances: the turkey dinner. I am a vegetarian, so the turkey thing is completely lost on me, but from what I hear, four weeks is barely enough to recover from the excesses of Thanksgiving dinner, never mind enough time to deal with turkey leftovers galore. Spacing the two turkey-centric holidays further apart would do wonders for the digestion and the state of America's fridges.
Furthermore, American workers currently go 12 weeks without a statutory holiday between Labour Day and Thanksgiving, only to be subjected to 2 statutory holidays within the next six weeks. Absent Columbus Day becoming a holiday for everyone (unlikely in this age of political correctness), isn't is a good thing to evenly space our precious holidays more evenly? Think of the productivity gains that would accrue if employees were more evenly rested during the year.
Speaking of the economy, did you know that Franklin Roosevelt actually moved up Thanksgiving by a week during the Depression, as an economic measure? Previously, American Thanksgiving had been marked on the last Thursday of November, but Roosevelt reasoned that moving it up to the fourth Thursday of November would give people an extra week to shop for Christmas. Given that the current Commander-in-Chief views it as the duty of every American to go shopping and support the economy during this time of war, surely moving Thanksgiving up a couple of weeks is the patriotic thing to do.
I could go on. There are literally thousands of reasons why an earlier Thanksgiving is in the best interests of Americans. The earlier the holiday is in the fall, the closer it comes to being a proper harvest celebration, and the nicer the weather outside to enjoy such classic harvest-time activities as apple-picking, pumpkin-carving, and Congressional campaigning. Indeed, my preferred date for rescheduling American Thanksgiving is the first Thursday after the first Monday in November. That way, every two years, Americans can give thanks for their democratic right to boot out the current incompetents in office before they dig into their turkey, and at the same time, enjoy an extra hour of time off, given that this would also be the weekend that Daylight Saving Time ends.
I think I make a compelling case. Let the campaign for an earlier American Thanksgiving begin! And Happy Thanksgiving just the same!
As I sit here all alone in my apartment in New Haven on this American Thanksgiving day, the victim of high holiday-season airfares and a crushing law school workload, I'd like to make a very modest Thanksgiving proposal. No, I'm not about to condemn the consumption of turkey as cruel to animals and human waistlines, or call for the cancellation of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade because it is an extravagant use of helium. I just think that Americans should celebrate Thanksgiving earlier in the fall -- say at the beginning of November, rather than at the end.
The driving force behind my proposal is the notion that American Thanksgiving as currently scheduled is just too close to Christmas. Given that people generally go through the trouble and expense of travelling home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, doesn't it make sense to distribute the holidays a little further apart, so that you can recover from the last family visit before being subjected to them again?
The same theme of recovery extends to the central aspect of both modern Thanksgiving and Christmas observances: the turkey dinner. I am a vegetarian, so the turkey thing is completely lost on me, but from what I hear, four weeks is barely enough to recover from the excesses of Thanksgiving dinner, never mind enough time to deal with turkey leftovers galore. Spacing the two turkey-centric holidays further apart would do wonders for the digestion and the state of America's fridges.
Furthermore, American workers currently go 12 weeks without a statutory holiday between Labour Day and Thanksgiving, only to be subjected to 2 statutory holidays within the next six weeks. Absent Columbus Day becoming a holiday for everyone (unlikely in this age of political correctness), isn't is a good thing to evenly space our precious holidays more evenly? Think of the productivity gains that would accrue if employees were more evenly rested during the year.
Speaking of the economy, did you know that Franklin Roosevelt actually moved up Thanksgiving by a week during the Depression, as an economic measure? Previously, American Thanksgiving had been marked on the last Thursday of November, but Roosevelt reasoned that moving it up to the fourth Thursday of November would give people an extra week to shop for Christmas. Given that the current Commander-in-Chief views it as the duty of every American to go shopping and support the economy during this time of war, surely moving Thanksgiving up a couple of weeks is the patriotic thing to do.
I could go on. There are literally thousands of reasons why an earlier Thanksgiving is in the best interests of Americans. The earlier the holiday is in the fall, the closer it comes to being a proper harvest celebration, and the nicer the weather outside to enjoy such classic harvest-time activities as apple-picking, pumpkin-carving, and Congressional campaigning. Indeed, my preferred date for rescheduling American Thanksgiving is the first Thursday after the first Monday in November. That way, every two years, Americans can give thanks for their democratic right to boot out the current incompetents in office before they dig into their turkey, and at the same time, enjoy an extra hour of time off, given that this would also be the weekend that Daylight Saving Time ends.
I think I make a compelling case. Let the campaign for an earlier American Thanksgiving begin! And Happy Thanksgiving just the same!
posted by Vivek Krishnamurthy at
5:29 PM
2 Comments:
Your proposal certainly makes sense to me. Here's a oomparison. "All Saints Day" used to be celebrated in the Spring (originally, May 13). It was later moved to the fall. One of hte reasons was that, it was the harvest season and pilgrims would have access to food supplies. It's worked that way ever since.
Since Thanksgiving isn't a religious holiday, but a national holiday, it should be an easy thing to move.
Besides, remember when Christmas sales/store decorations didn't go up until Thanksgiving? Now, its the day after Halloween---Nov.1.
By
Anonymous, at 12:14 PM
Yes! I'm not alone in wanting an earlier, more seasonally correct Thanksgiving holiday. My personal suggestion was the 2nd week of November but your Thursday-after-Election-Day proposal sounds very smart. Combine with an Election Day holiday and a week-long Fall Break for students!
By
Karl Bonner, at 12:47 AM
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