President Franklin D. Roosevelt accomplished many things. He was elected president four times and led the country out of the Great Depression and to victory in World War II. Yet there was one thing even this most remarkable of presidents couldn’t do. As he learned the hard way, you don’t monkey around with Thanksgiving.

We all know how the Pilgrims observed the first Thanksgiving celebration. (Though historical research suggests it was held between Sept. 11 and Nov. 11, 1621, not in late November.)