GREENWALD TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION FOR POST-THANKSGIVING ‘FAMILY DAY’

By John Duthie

GREENWALD TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION FOR POST-THANKSGIVING 'FAMILY DAY'
Measure Would Swap State's Lincoln's Birthday Holiday

(TRENTON) - Assemblyman Louis Greenwald today said he will draft legislation to trade the state's Lincoln's Birthday state holiday for a new day-after-Thanksgiving "Family Day."

"Thanksgiving has become the most family-oriented holiday on the calendar, with many people traveling long distances to gather with loved ones," said Greenwald (D-Camden). "New Jersey should join the growing number of other states that recognize the Thanksgiving weekend as a time to spend with family and close friends."

Greenwald said his bill would swap-out the state's current February 12 Lincoln's Birthday holiday to create the post-Thanksgiving "Family Day." He said Lincoln's Birthday has been left unrecognized by schools and the private sector and has been absorbed on the federal calendar by the Presidents Day holiday the following week.

The Assemblyman also said "Family Day" would give parents a day to spend with their children since schools are traditionally closed for the Thanksgiving weekend.

Greenwald noted that roughly two-dozen states provide the last Friday in November as a paid holiday to public employees. In contrast, Lincoln's Birthday - February 12 - is a legal holiday in only five other states.

The statute naming the state's 13 official holidays has not been amended since 1986.

"New Jersey's holiday schedule needs to be in step with the times," said Greenwald. "In today's society, with time at a premium and loved ones often living hundreds of miles away, we need to promote the importance of family. Officially recognizing the day after Thanksgiving as a time for family is an idea of which even Abraham Lincoln would approve."

--30--

JOHN DUTHIE can be reached via email at duthiejo@gmail.com.

Related topics: Lou Greenwald, Thanksgiving Holiday