President Washington issued the first Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1789, but it wasn't until President Lincoln's 1863 Proclamation that Thanksgiving was regularly commemorated each year on the last Thursday of November.

In 1939, however, the last Thursday in November fell on the last day of the month. Concerned that the shortened Christmas shopping season might dampen the economic recovery, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a Proclamation moving Thanksgiving to the second to last Thursday of November. 32 states issued similar proclamations, while 16 states refused to accept the change.

To end the confusion, Congress decided to set a fixed-date for the holiday. President Roosevelt signed a joint resolution on Dec. 26, 1941, thus establishing the fourth Thursday in November as the Federal Thanksgiving Day holiday.

Continue reading about Thanksgiving 

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