To keep in mind: These services are open or closed on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just a few short days away, continuing the tradition of being a national holiday that was established in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln. While the first Thanksgiving was observed through a 1789 proclamation by President George Washington, it didn’t become an official holiday until Lincoln was in office.

Did You Know?

For two years, 1939-40, there were two days of Thanksgiving being observed in the U.S. — the federal holiday and 32 states doing so on the third Thursday of November while 16 states instead did so the following week.

Lincoln’s proclamation had set the holiday to be on the last Thursday of the month; in 1939, that was going to fall on the last day of November. Being concerned that the shortened Christmas shopping season might have dampened the economic recovery, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued his own proclamation which moved Thanksgiving to the third Thursday of the month. 32 states followed suit, but 16 refused to do so and chose to recognize the holiday as originally scheduled.

A resolution was passed by Congress in 1941 to end the confusion, setting a fixed date of Thanksgiving falling on the last Thursday in November. The Senate, however, amended it to instead be on the fourth Thursday of the month, alleviating the issue of having shortened holiday shopping seasons in years when there are five Thursdays in November.

With the holiday coming up this week, here’s a list of services that will be opened or closed on Thursday.

Closed

Local town and clerks offices
The post office with no mail being delivered
Urgent cares (Including Fanny Allen, ClearChoiceMD, Concentra, Northwestern, and Champlain Medical which is also closed Friday)
Banks
Courts
Schools
U.S. stock markets
Federal offices
Garbage pickup; see details about Chittenden Solid Waste District facility hours below.

Open

Emergency services including police departments, fire departments, and rescue services, as well as the emergency department at hospitals.
Select grocery and “dollar” stores — possibly with limited hours; call ahead before visiting specific locations to see if-and-when they are open.
Gas stations and certain coffee-type shops — possibly with limited hours.

Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) Thanksgiving Week Hours

Wednesday, Nov. 25

Environmental Depot (hazardous waste drop-off): Open 8 a.m. — 12 p.m. by appointment only. Visit the linked page to make an appointment.
Green Mountain Compost: Open 8 a.m. — 12 p.m. (Residential food scrap drop-off has moved to the Drop-Off Center at 1492 Redmond Rd.)
CSWD Drop-Off Centers are on regular schedules.