On a holiday designed for reflection, one man, historically unpopular, is heading to a remote Maryland mountaintop with his family. The other, promising change, is surrounding himself with dozens of people in a bustling city.

Images of Thanksgiving for most are football, turkey, shopping, and the inevitable holiday weight gain, but  past Thanksgivings were not predicated on excess and plenty but survival, unification, and need to stimulate the economy: even today the roots of this holiday resonate.

However, for approximately 1.9 million executive branch civilian employees, is it another day off or a day of reflection and thankfulness?

Perhaps an OhMyGov! history of the holiday will provide some grounding.

In 1621, after a hard and devastating first year in the New World the Pilgrim's fall harvest was very successful and plentiful and showed their gratitude to the Native Americans for their help by hosting a feast to give thanks.  While this was not the first Thanksgiving in America (thanksgiving services were held in Virginia as early as 1607), it was America's first Thanksgiving Festival.

The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years. During the American Revolution (late 1770's) a day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress.  As President, on October 3, 1789, George Washington issued a proclamation and created the first Thanksgiving Day designated by the national government of the United States of America.

By the mid-1800s, many states observed a Thanksgiving holiday. Meanwhile, the poet and editor Sarah J. Hale had begun lobbying for a national Thanksgiving holiday. In 1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, looking for ways to unite the nation, gave his Thanksgiving Proclamation, declaring the last Thursday in November a day of thanksgiving.

In 1939, 1940, and 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt, seeking to lengthen the Christmas shopping season, proclaimed Thanksgiving the third Thursday in November. Controversy followed, and Congress passed a joint resolution in 1941 decreeing that Thanksgiving should fall on the fourth Thursday of November, where it remains.

Today, President Bush, gave thanks to troops and volunteers, to teachers and pastors, to all the American people. "Most of all," he said, "I thank the American people for the tremendous privilege of serving as the president."

Just a reminder...there is only one  federal holiday left for 2008.  However, if history is a guide, there's a good chance President Bush will give federal employees a parting gift: an additional day off around Christmas. This year, Christmas is on a Thursday, so it's likely that federal agencies also will be closed on Friday, Dec. 26, giving most government workers a four-day weekend.

For fun facts about Thanksgiving, please visit the U.S. Census Bureau's Thanksgiving Day web page.

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