- Fact 2 - Thanksgiving or
Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival celebrated primarily in
the United States and Canada
- Fact 3 - Thanksgiving is a holiday
celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November in the United
States and the second Monday in October in Canada
- Fact 4 - Abraham Lincoln issued a
'Thanksgiving Proclamation' on 3 October 1863 and officially set
aside the last Thursday of November as the national day for
Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving holiday was declared by congress
in 1941
- Fact 5 - 91% of Americans eat
turkey on Thanksgiving Day
- Fact 6 - Thomas Jefferson thought
the concept of Thanksgiving was "the most ridiculous idea I’ve
ever heard."
- Fact 7 - Thanksgiving Symbols: The
most popular Thanksgiving Symbols include the following:
- Turkey
- Corn
- Cranberries
- Pumpkin
- Fact 8 - 102 pilgrims, took 66 days
to cross the Atlantic in 1620 in the Mayflower a 17th Century
sailing vessel and reached Plymouth rock, Massachusetts on
December 11th 1620
- Fact 9 - The first Thanksgiving
celebration lasted three days
- Fact 10 - Approx 280 million
turkeys are sold for the Thanksgiving celebrations in the US
- Fact 11 - Pilgrims made early the
first pumpkin pies by hollowing out the pumpkin and filling the
shell with milk, honey and spices
- Fact 12 - Governor William Bradford
invited the Wampanoag chief Massasoit, and 90 of his tribe, to
the first thanksgiving feast in gratitude for the help the
pilgrims had received from the
Tribes of Indians.
- Fact 13 - Thanksgiving is often
referred to as "Turkey Day"!
- Fact 14 - A traditional
Thanksgiving dinner includes turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet
potatoes, cornbread, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce
- Fact 15 - A traditional
Thanksgiving desert includes pumpkin, pecan, sweet potato and
apple pies.
- Fact 16 - Some families include
breaking the turkey's wishbone as part of their celebration on
Thanksgiving.
When the wishbone is dry, it is given to two people (usually
children), who pull it apart until it breaks, each one making a
wish while doing so. The person who gets the "long half" of the
wishbone will have his or her wish "come true."
- Fact 16 - The Turkey Pardon:
- Fact 17 - A tradition at
Thanksgiving is the 'Turkey Pardon'. The President of the United
States receives a gift of a live turkey and at a White House
ceremony, the president traditionally "pardons" the National
Thanksgiving Turkey allowing them to live out the rest of their
lives on a farm.
- Fact 18 - The first Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade was held in 1924
- Fact 19 - Many families watch the
New York City Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the TV as part
of their festice traditions and customs. The Macy parade
includes marching bands, floats, songs and performances from
Broadway musicals, and giant helium-filled balloons!
- Fact 20 - Another Thanksgiving
custom is to watch a football game on TV, or play a traditional
family board game
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