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While you work through this Wednesday, thinking about the long weekend ahead, we are here to share some interesting tidbits about Thanksgiving.
Did you know?
The early settlers in Plymouth and the Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast in November 1621. The feast celebrated the Pilgrims’ first successful corn harvest and is acknowledged as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. It lasted for three days.
Individual colonies and states had their own Thanksgiving days for almost two centuries and in 1789, George Washington gave the first Thanksgiving proclamation where he asked the nation to come together and be thankful for the culmination of the war and the approval of the U.S. Constitution.
In 1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln announced a national Thanksgiving Day to be observed in November. He scheduled Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November and it was celebrated on the same day until 1939. In 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.
Turkey, which may or may not have been part of the first Thanksgiving meal, is now an integral part of the tradition. Almost 90 percent of Americans will cook a turkey tomorrow. Based on a study by the National Turkey Foundation, approximately 36.9 million turkeys are consumed during Thanksgiving.
Interestingly, since the mid-20th century or earlier, the president of the United States pardons one or two turkeys each year. The spared birds are sent to a farm to live the remainder of their lives freely.
The Guinness book of World Records lists the largest pumpkin pie ever baked at 2,020 pounds and slightly over 12 feet long made with 900 pounds of pumpkin, 62 gallons of evaporated milk, 155 dozen eggs, 300 pounds of sugar, 3.5 pounds of salt, 7 pounds of cinnamon, 2 pounds of pumpkin spice and 250 pounds of crust; this was achieved by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers in Ohio on October 8, 2005.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City is the largest and most famous parade.
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), approximately 42 million Americans will take a road trip this Thanksgiving weekend, especially since gas prices are at their lowest since the 2008 holiday season.
The first Thanksgiving Day football game was played between Yale and Princeton in 1876. Today, the NFL has three Thanksgiving games, two of which feature the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys. The Lions have been part of the tradition since 1934.
Black Friday did not always connote a happy shopping day. There are different stories behind its origin:
- A financial crisis caused by the crash in the gold market in 1869
- After an entire year of losses, stores seemed to profit on the day after Thanksgiving, hence giving rise to the Black Friday phenomenon
- In the 1950s, the Philadelphia police used the term to describe the chaos that occurred the day after Thanksgiving, with people thronging into the city to shop and watch the Army-Navy football game on Saturday. In the late 80s, retailers gave it a positive spin by calling it the day when the nation’s stores turned a profit.
- According to a pre-holiday survey by the National Retail Federation, almost 135.8 million Americans plan to shop over the Thanksgiving weekend and 183.8 million may take more advantage of the online deals offered on Cyber Monday.
We hope you enjoy this Turkey Day with your loved ones, delicious food and good entertainment!