This is more of a true story than it appears. In 1939, Franklin Roosevelt changed Thanksgiving from the last Thursday in November to the next-to-the-last Thursday, in order to give retailers a longer Christmas shopping season. It was only in December of 1941 that congress set the date of Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday in November, which can occur as early as the 22nd (like this year) or as late as November 28th. Link