A few hours late, but still good (advocating for an earlier Thanksgiving)

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

On this night after the Thanksgiving feasts, I wanted to propose a new idea with regard to this holiday. No, I'm not advocating banning Pilgrim decorations (though we should reconsider the traditional myth of the Pilgrims and the Natives), and I'm not saying we should change the food served at Thanksgiving.

What I am proposing is changing the date of Thanksgiving - specifically, celebrating it just slightly earlier than we currently do. There are several reasons I will give for this, some of them purely pragmatic and others purely out of "seasonal correctness."

Actually, Thanksgiving has been moved once before in our nation's history, though the change was very slight, amounting to only two calendar days on average. From 1863 through most of the 1930s, Thanksgiving was celebrated on the last Thursday of November (which fell between the 24th and 30th), although the President had the authority to declare Thanksgiving at will. But in 1939 President Franklin Roosevelt, in an effort to lengthen the Christmas shopping season and help the economy, declared it on the 23rd of the month instead of the 30th like it should have been under the old system. And the next year it was declared on November 21 instead of the 28th, which was the earliest Thanksgiving we ever had in the US! Many states, especially ones with strong Republican dominance, defied the President and stuck with the old date. The last Thursday of November became known as "Republican Thanksgiving" and the second to last Thursday as "Franksgiving."

In 1941, a bill in Congress was passed and signed, fixing Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday of November (22nd to 28th), which was two days earlier than the original dating scheme (24th to 30th) but five days later than the Franksgiving scheme (17th to 23rd). Call it the "two-sevenths compromise" if you will.

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There was a lot of public outrage over the prospect of an earlier Thanksgiving, especially given the fact that extending the holiday season was the obvious primary motive. But the march of time has taken care of that problem, late November be damned. Holiday shopping now starts at least by mid-November, even as early as the last week of October in some stores. So it would be quite easy to dismiss holiday shopping as a motive for an earlier Thanksgiving should it ever be proposed nowadays.

There are some more sensible reasons for celebrating Thanksgiving a little earlier than the end of November. The most practical one is travel safety. Although November is generally considered an autumn month even by meteorologists, and Thanksgiving's themes and decorations are solidly autumnal, the de facto transition into winter is well underway by the end of November in most of the country, no matter how you define winter in your climate. By late November the average temperature is already nearing the end of its journey from warm to cold; typically speaking, average temperatures drop only a few degrees more between Thanksgiving and mid-January. So winter is at least banging on the gate if it has not already invaded your neighborhood.

And with the turn to winter comes a turn to winter weather in many parts of the country: heavy rain, snow, ice, freezing fog. Flight delays and cancellations are a big problem at this time, but they are generally not nearly as much of a problem in the first half of November. Even a difference of one week would make a significant change in the chances for disagreeable travel weather in the nation's colder regions.

Earlier dates also make for more fall foliage in many places. Though it probably won't be enough to coincide with peak color in most climates, a Thanksgiving in the second week of November would seem quite a bit more autumnal than the status quo does. Traditional fall activities such as mushroom hunting, outdoor hikes, pumpkin gathering and such would still be feasible in many parts of the country that lie north of the Sun Belt. Better weather might also improve attendance at the Thanksgiving parades and at community events scheduled around the holiday.

There's another thing to consider with regard to our calendar and American holidays. There are no official work holidays between the heat of Labor Day and the chill of the late-November Thanksgiving. That makes for nearly three full months without extended weekends or good travel opportunities. Then comes another big family gathering called Christmas, Hanukkah or Solstice, only a month or less later! Having the two big family travel holidays so close together seems a little rugged and probably contributes to a lot of holiday stress, not to mention a tendency to develop an extended overeating season. An earlier Thanksgiving would mean that the get-togethers are a little more spread out, allowing families to recover from the first one and then enjoy the second in a totally different meteorological season.

And this brings us to the most fundamental reason for an earlier Thanksgiving: seasonal correctness. Thanksgiving is supposed to be a harvest festival. But no traditional culture in the cooler climates of the world has ever had a harvest held in late November. The only places warm enough for late-November harvests are also warm enough to not get any snow in December and January. In order for the holiday to more closely conform to its real-world seasonal symbolism, it MUST be celebrated earlier than November 22! You simply cannot celebrate harvest and snow only one month apart, let alone at the same time as in many of today's Thanksgiving parades and shopping malls.

So, to sum all this up, there is a VERY good set of reasons to celebrate Thanksgiving earlier. But how much earlier should it be?

Moving it up to the third week of November would add a couple degrees to the expected temperature and a few more colorful leaves to the trees, and would subtract quite a bit of snow and ice from the travel forecasts. And if it were on the second week of November, the holiday would truly feel more like autumn than like winter. We could carry it a half-step further by declaring Thanksgiving on the Thursday before the second Sunday, ensuring that the entire weekend is completed no later than the 14th. This would place the holiday on the Thursday between November 5 and November 11 - still not wonderful for weather, but much better than it is now and early enough to feel sort of like harvest time in all but Alaska and a few places near the Canadian border.

I am, however, willing to compromise on the Thursday before the third Sunday (12th to 18th) if it has a better chance of passing. Ten days earlier is enough to avoid a lot of snowy headaches, especially in the upper Midwest and Northeast. It is early enough that there should be no excuse for winter decor.

But the question remains: how might we pass this reform?

First of all, focus on the practical side: travel weather. All the other reasons will simply come along with that. Making such a reform might not be that hard if we can frame it as a safety issue -- that has been used to justify Daylight Saving Time in the past, and it should work for an earlier Thanksgiving.

Second, explain that an earlier Thanksgiving won't mean a longer shopping season, since it already begins well before the end of November.

Third, introduce the change gradually so there are no jumps in the date. Wait until a year when Thanksgiving comes on the 22nd (or on the 23rd if the next year is a leap year). This will happen next in the year 2012. Then just move it up to the third week and it will come on the 21st, or possibly the 20th, the next year. Now you can let it get one day earlier each year (two days in a leap year) until it's on the 15th or 16th, then redefine it so it will come on the 14th in the following year. Continue until the new definition for Thanksgiving's date is established. Again, I would love to see it between the 5th and 11th, but the 12th to 18th would be acceptable too.

Most importantly, SPREAD THE WORD! Let people know why you want Thanksgiving on the Thursday before the second Sunday - or at least the third Sunday - in November.

Happy Thanksgiving, 2008!!!
Karl S. Bonner

PS: Here is a good blog site advocating something similar to what I was, though her dating method is a little different.

http://the-reaction.blogspot.com/2006/11/modest-thanksgiving-proposal.html