Do Americans have the right to have a day off on Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American readers out there, which according to my Stats there are a lot of you out there (whoo I love Stats!). Now I am aware that what I’m about to say is pretty controversial and you may not agree but please if that’s the case then leave me a little comment, nicely explaining why you think that my opinion is wrong.
So the hot topic of the week has been should Americans take Thanksgiving off? In America thanksgiving is a national holiday so there is no class or work. I'm aware that a few of the Americans here did not go to class today.
 I understand that Thanksgiving is important to Americans but I have to stress that it is a national holiday. It is not an international holiday nor is it a religious holiday, taking Thanksgiving off in a foreign country is like me taking the day of Prince William’s and Kate Middleton’s wedding off (it’s going to be a national holiday I hear). I just wouldn’t do it. Maybe my British way of thinking is not attuned to American patriotism.
For me it conjures up the question, if Americans are taking Thanksgiving off, then do they not get a day off during German national holidays? If the answer is no, then it looks like the Americans are being a tad greedy, but of course its going to be no because you cannot go to university if the university is not open. 
Please do not get me wrong, I’m not trying to pi ck on Americans. I’d feel the same way whether it was us British trying to take a day off or even people from Timbuktu. I understand that where we come from is important, and I’m all for celebrating Thanksgiving in Germany (there are a lot of Thanksgiving dinners here tonight) but to take the day off of school, I just don’t understand it.