HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

(From Cynopsis)

It's going to be a quiet Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so while you're twiddling away the hours hoping the boss suggests it be a shortened day, here's a brief history lesson on why Thanksgiving is on a Thursday.

There were two first Thanksgivings -- one in 1619 in Virginia, and the next in 1621 in Plymouth (Massachusetts).

In Virginia the day of thanksgiving celebrated the landing of a group of 38 English settlers at Virginia's first settlement a little way from Jamestown.  The group declared it a day of thanksgiving and said thanks should be "yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving."

In Plymouth 1621, the Governor of the day, WILLIAM BRANFORD, declared that first feast following the fall harvest as a "day of thanksgiving."  Thereafter, the day following the fall harvest was celebrated each year in all 13 colonies, though the days changed depending on which state you happened to be harvesting in.

In 1863, in an effort to unite the nation during the Civil War, PRESIDENT LINCOLN made his THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION, and declared the last Thursday in the month of November be a day of thanksgiving.

Jump ahead to 1939 and PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT decided the best way to strengthen the economy was the lengthen the Christmas buying season, and made his own proclamation -- Thanksgiving heretofore will be on the third Thursday in November.

Well, Congress didn't agree and in 1941 pushed the date to the fourth Thursday in November -- until this year.

So, why are we celebrating a week early this year?

I dunno.