For the sake of "fair and balanced" should the federal government

[Bandit]

either add Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, ??? federal holidays or take away the Christian ones eg. Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.? Why should one religious group receive special "holidays" and not all?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Thanksgiving is not a Christian holiday

It is not recognized as a sacred holiday by any religion I know of, unlike Easter and Christmas or Eid or Hannukah or Duvali. I believe thanks can be given whether you are of faith or of no faith-atheists can use the day to thank those who provided their food, gave them jobs, or helped them out.
Edited to add: My agnostic co-worker is always thankful for Thanksgiving, because we are guaranteed a four day weekend!

[northzax]

2. the only "Christian" holiday

on the Federal calendar is Christmas. THere are, in fact, pagan holidays (Thanksgiving is a harvest festival, New Year's Day is certainly pagan) All the others have historical signifigance to the US (Presidents', MLK, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Veterans' Day, Columbus Day)