When is Thanksgiving 2021 and why is it on Thursdays?

 

    Thanksgiving being a Thursday dates back to the earliest days of this country. Thursday is just a good day to give thanks.

     Thanksgiving is an unusual holiday because it doesn’t always fall on the same day of the year. But unlike Halloween and Christmas the holiday always falls on the same day of the week, Thursday.

    While this may make planning around the holiday easier every year, many people don’t seem to know why the holiday is scheduled this way.

    This year, Thanksgiving will fall on Nov. 25, which is the fourth Thursday of the month. This has been the way that the date for the holiday has been determined since 1941. Before this, the holiday was traditionally held on the last Thursday of November.

    In 1939, however, the last Thursday of the month was also the last day of the month. President Roosevelt was concerned that this would hurt shorten the Christmas shopping season, so he issued a proclamation that Thanksgiving would occur on the second to last Thursday of November instead.

    This was a controversial decision, and in 1941, the House and Senate passed a resolution saying that Thanksgiving would occur on the fourth Thursday of November. This would thereby maintain the Christmas shopping season during years when November had five Thursdays.

    This may answer why the holiday is scheduled the way that it is, but it doesn’t explain why Thursday was chosen instead of another day of the week.

  

 Since ministers would often give lectures on Thursdays in the New England area, Thursday seemingly became a convenient day for Thanksgiving. As the years went by, it became a tradition. By the time George Washington issued a proclamation for a day of Thanksgiving, Thursday had already been associated with feasts of that nature.

    The reason for this is a bit unclear. Going back to the earliest days of the tradition. Historians believe that Thursday was chosen because it was one of the more convenient days of the week to have an annual feast. For the early Puritan settlers, Sunday was the Sabbath. It’s likely that the early days of giving thanks were purposely scheduled not to interfere with the Sabbath. Also, Fridays were commonly days of fasting, making them inconvenient feast days for many people. 

By Michael Hollan | Fox News   foxnews.com

Question 3: Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words and definitions given.

a)    arranged (paragraph 3)

b)    debatable (paragraph 4)

c)    apparently (paragraph 6)

d)    big meal (paragraph 6)

e)    intentionally (paragraph 7)

f)     act or period of not eating food (paragraph 7)

Question 4: Choose the correct option, a, b, c or d for each question.

1.    According the the text, a lot of people…

a)    are aware of the reason why Thanksgiving is celebrated on a Thursday.

b)    aren’t aware of the reason why Thanksgiving is celebrated on a Thursday.

c)    know why Thanksgiving is celebrated on a Thursday.

d)    don’t understand why Thanksgiving is celebrated on a Thursday.

2.    Thanksgiving…

a)    will be the fourth Thursday of November only this year.

b)    has always been the fourth Thursday of November.

c)    has been the fourth Thursday of November for less than 100 years.

d)    has been the fourth Thursday of November since Rooselvelt decided it.

3.    Historians think that…

a)    Sunday would have been a more appropriate day for Puritan settlers.

b)    Fridays were days normally associated with eating big meals.

c)    Thursday was an appropriate day to celebrate a big meal once a year.

d)    any day of the week could have been chosen to celebrate Thanksgiving.

 

 

KEY

Question 3

a)    scheduled

b)    controversial

c)    seemingly

d)    feast

e)    purposely

f)     fasting

Question 4

1.    b aren’t aware of the reason why Thanksgiving is celebrated on a Thursday.

2.    c has been the fourth Thursday of November for less than 100 years.

3.    c  Thursday was an appropriate day to celebrate a big meal once a year.