Facts about Thanksgiving

Facts About

Did you Know? List of Interesting Facts about Thanksgiving
Facts are statements which are held to be true and often contrasted with opinions and beliefs. Our unusual and interesting facts about Thanksgiving, trivia and information, including some useful statistics will fascinate everyone from kids and children to adults.

Interesting Facts about Thanksgiving are as follows:

  • Fact 1 - Definition: Thanksgiving commemorates a feast held in 1621 by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag

  • 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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