Thanksgiving Facts that will Make You Sound Very Smart at the Table

FIRST THANKSGIVING

🍁The famous pilgrim celebration at Plymouth Colony Massachusetts in 1621, is regarded as the first American Thanksgiving, however, there are actually 12 claims to where the "first" Thanksgiving took place: two in Texas, two in Florida, one in Maine, two in Virginia, and give in Massachusetts. In 1541, when Francisco Vesquez de Coronado and his expedition held a thanksgiving celebration in Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas panhandle. 

🍁The settlers of Plymouth Rock never meant for it to be a feast. They mostly wanted to recognize "giving of thanks" in the form of prayer and abstaining from food, but the Wampanoag Indians, who joined the pilgrims for their 3-day celebration contributed their own harvest traditions of dancing, games, and feasting. This is from their accident festival, Nickommoh, meaning"to give away" or "exchange". 

🍁 If it wasn't for the help of Tisquantum, or Squanto (c. 1580-1622) the pilgrims most likely would have not survived without them. Squanto had been back and forth across the ocean to England three times often as a captured slave. Historians have suggested that he was later poisoned by the Wampanoag. 

PRESIDENTS THANKSGIVING 

George Washington

🍁 In 1789, George Washington hailed the holiday, while President Thomas Jefferson called Thanksgiving "the most ridiculous idea" ever conceived.

🍁 President Madison declared Thanksgiving should be held twice in 1815, none of the celebrations occurred in the autumn. 

Sarah Josepha Hale

🍁In 1863 magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale who also wrote the classic song "Mary Had a Little Lamb" wrote  President Lincoln letters for 17 years campaigning Thanksgiving should be a national holiday. 


🍁In 1947, the annual White House tradition of pardoning a turkey. President Harry Truman took pity on one lucky fowl. Some historians say this practice began during the 1860s, when Abraham Lincoln granted a pardon to a pet turkey belonging to his son, Tad. This tradition is supposed to alleviate America's guilt, but we don't stop us from slaughtering more than 46 million turkeys for the holiday. 

🍁Thanksgiving's date was once a marketing scheme. In 1939, President FDR declared Americans should celebrate the annual feast one week early, hoping it would increase retail sales during the Great Depression, but Americans didn't react kindly to the new Deal meal. The mayor of Atlantic City solved the controversy by declaring his residents would simply enjoy two meals --- Thanksgiving and "Franksgiving". In 1941 Congress adopted a resolution setting the fourth Thursday of November as the legal holiday. He was being compared to Hitler. FDR learned to mess with traditions. 

🍁In 1989, President George H.W. Bush was the first to pardon a turkey. Since then every president upheld the tradition. 

🍁President Obama pardoned a 45-pound turkey named Courage. 


ACTIVITES TRADITIONS

Source: Cooper Hood | Screenrant 

🍁The first Thanksgiving football game was in 1876. In 1920, NFL Football Thanksgiving Classic games became a tradition on Thanksgiving. Since then the Detriot Lions and the Dallas Cowboys have hosted games on Turkey Day. In 2006, a third game was added with different teams hosting. 

🍁In 1942, London's Westminster Abbey held Thanksgiving services for U.S. troops stationed in England.  It was an ironic gesture given the holiday's origins as a festival for pilgrims fleeing religious tyranny in Britain.

🍁Jingle Bells was originally Thanksgiving Song. Created by James Pierpoint in 1857 for children celebrating Thanksgiving at his Boston Sunday School.

Thanksgiving's like Halloween

🍁Thanksgiving Use to Look Like Halloween. At the turn of the 20th century, Children and adults would dress up in masks and host costume crawls in cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The tradition of children dressing up as poor people in New York became so popular that Thanksgiving was nicknamed "Ragamuffin Day." 

Source: Al Tizon | Evangelicals for social action

🍁A group of Native Americans and their supporters gather on Thanksgiving on Cole's Hill in Plymouth to commemorate a National Day of Mourning. Participants i National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native people to survive today. 

🍁Since 1975, there is another celebration on Thanksgiving Day on the island of Alcatraz. It is called UN-Thanksgiving Day, commemorating the survival of Native Americans after the Europeans settled in America. 




MACY DAY THANKSGIVING PARADE

🍁Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924 with only 400 employees marching from Convent Ave to 145th street in New York City. There were no large balloons it featured only live animals from the Central Park Zoo. 


🍁Up until 1932, balloons from the parade were released into the sky when the festivities were over. Macy's offered a $50 reward for those who found a deflated balloon and returned it. 


🍁Snoopy has made the most appearances in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. His debut was in 1968 as a balloon. 


🍁More than 44 million people watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV every year. 3 million people attend in person. The parade starts at 77th street and Central Park West and heads down to 34th Street in Herald Square. 

THANKSGIVING FOOD

Source: Delish

🍁The first Thanksgiving didn't serve turkey. It was deer or venison, ducks, geese, oysters, lobster, eel and fish. No pumpkin pies, mashed potatoes, cranberry relish, but probably ate cranberries and no Turduckens. 

🍁 Americans eat over 46 million turkeys each Thanksgiving. 97% of Americans eat turkey for Thanksgiving. 

🍁According to the Guinness Book of Records, the heaviest turkey on record weighed 86 pounds. 

🍁Californians consume the most turkey on Thanksgiving Day. 

🍁According to the American Pie Council—an estimated 50,000 pumpkin pies are eaten on Thanksgiving. Americans being Americans, still rank good old apple pie #1, but pumpkin comes in at a close second. Yum!!

Source: Campbells

🍁The Green Bean Casserole. Campbell's Soup created Green Bean Casserole for an annual cookbook over 50 years ago and they now sell $20 million+ worth of cream of mushroom soup for Thanksgiving. 

Source: Browery Boys

🍁The First TV Dinner was Thanksgiving Leftovers. In 1953, Swanson overestimated the amount of turkey Americans would consume that Thanksgiving. Gerry Thomas, a company salesman, ordered 5000 aluminum trays, recruited an assembly line of women armed with spatulas and ice-cream scoops and began creating mini feasts of turkey, corn-bread dressing, peas and sweet potatoes creating the first-ever TV dinner. 

🍁Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's first mean in space after walking on the moon was foil packets with roasted turkey. 








Resources:
http://allparenting.com/my-life/articles/969379/20-thanksgiving-fun-facts-to-teach-kids

http://www.hopeinthehealing.com/tag/neil-armstrong/