Warwick, RI — Today, Nov. 23, is Thanksgiving Day, the annual holiday tracing its roots back to the Pilgrims in the 1620s, marked by feasting and celebration, giving thanks, and, local traditions: the annual football game and Turkey Trot Road Race.
First, a few Thanksgiving facts to impress the family:
- The date of Thanksgiving wasn’t formalized until Reconstruction in the 1870s; before that, states observed the holiday on different days. President Abraham Lincoln set Thanksgiving to the last Thursday in November in 1863, but Southern states rejected the idea at the time.
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a Congressional resolution on the day after Christmas in 1941 that set Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday of November.
- President George Washington declared the first national Thanksgiving holiday, on Nov. 26, 1789. [source: Wikipedia]
In Warwick, City Hall and the school department are closed for the holiday, with schools also closed on Friday. Trash and recycling are delayed one day.
Public transit company RIPTA is following holiday routes today. Check the RIPTA website for schedules.
TF Green State Airport is operating, with arrival and departure schedules online.
The Post Office is closed, as are banks.
Buy Nothing Day Friday, Nov. 24
Several sites across the state are hosting Buy Nothing Day, an annual clothing swap that highlights “how consumerism is a dead end,” according to Prosperity for RI.
In Warwick, Kent County YMCA, 900 Centerville Road, is your location for drop-off and pick-up of winter coats, jackets, vests, hats, gloves, and scarves.
Author: Rob Borkowski
Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.
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