Facts About Thanksgiving

Are you curious to learn some weird and wonderful facts about Thanksgiving?

If so, excellent! You are in exactly the right place my friend…

It’s time to chat about Thanksgiving facts.

Let’s dive right in…

1 – Thanksgiving is a yearly holiday celebrated in Canada, the United States, and some other countries. It’s traditionally celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.

2 – The first thanksgiving was held by settlers who had just arrived at Plymouth Rock.

3 – The most famous dish served during thanksgiving is turkey. A traditional thanksgiving feast includes turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.

4 – It’s a national holiday that celebrates the giving of gratitude for what you have.

5 – The pilgrims were a group of British colonists who landed at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts Bay Colony, on November 11th, 1620.

More Facts about Thanksgiving

6 – In 1789, President George Washington designated November 26th as a national holiday for giving thanks to God for our blessings and asked Americans to set aside time each year “to give humble penitence.”

7 – Thanksgiving was originally called “The Day of Observance” or “A Day For Giving Thanks To Our Lord God For Our Abundant Harvest.” It wasn’t until 1941 that Congress passed a resolution designating November 28th as Thanksgiving Day with turkey being designated as the official dish in 1957.

8 – It’s estimated that over 50 million turkeys are consumed during Thanksgiving dinner each year.

9 – “Pilgrims” were not the only people who came to America for religious freedom – there were also Puritans, Quakers, Catholics, Jews, African Americans- even Muslims!

10 – The Macy’s Day Parade is an annual event that has been taking place since 1924 to mark America’s Thanksgiving celebration.

More Facts about Thanksgiving

11 – A turkey is not native to North America – it was brought over from Europe by English settlers during colonial times.

12 – The first written recipe using cranberries comes from 1813; they were used instead of raisins because they were cheaper and more plentiful at that time due to an influx of European immigrants coming into New England.

13 – In Turkey, it’s called “Kurban Bayrami” and they celebrate with a feast too!

14 – The first Thanksgiving was held by settlers from England who arrived at Plymouth Bay in 1621.

15 – The Pilgrims were joined by 90 Wampanoag Native Americans for three days of celebration and feasting.

More Facts About Thanksgiving

16 – Pumpkin pie became associated with thanksgiving when President James Garfield’s wife made one for him in 1881 after his assassination attempt left him unable to eat anything else due to his throat injury.

17 – John Fiske wrote “The First Thanksgiving,” which became the most popular book about this holiday.

18 – In recent years, some organizations have been doing “thanksgiving drives” where they collect food items and other goods from members of their community in order to distribute them among those who need it most.

19 – A tradition at some Thanksgivings is having an annual family members take turns reading aloud what they’re thankful for each year as part of the mealtime prayer/grace.

20 – The word “thanks” comes from Old English words meaning thankfulness or gratefulness.

More Facts About Thanksgiving

21 – The average weight of a roasted turkey is 12 pounds.

22 – Before 1621, the Native Americans had a tradition called “The Feast Of The Harvest” which celebrated the end of summer with feasting and giving gifts.

23 – There are many traditions associated with thanksgiving, including dressing up in costumes, watching football games on TV, or playing board games with friends and family.

24 – The Black Friday sales always take place the day after Thanksgiving.

25 – The first documented reference to the celebration comes from 1621 in Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Facts About Thanksgiving – 25 Fun Thanksgiving Facts WOW!