Thanksgiving Facts

Expressing gratitude to God is the on Thanksgiving Day. But do you the myths and Thanksgiving facts associated with this traditional festival? Here are some facts on Thanksgiving -

• Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States. But, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the second Monday in October in Canada.
• George Washington declared Thanksgiving in 1789 and 1795, and John Adams in 1798 and 1799. James Madison declared Thanksgiving twice in 1815. None of these were celebrated in the autumn.
• President Franklin D. Roosevelt restored Thursday before last of November as Thanksgiving Day in the year 1939. He did so to make the Christmas shopping season longer and thus stimulate the economy of the state.
• Congress passed an official proclamation in 1941 and declared that now onwards Thanksgiving will be observed as a legal holiday on the fourth Thursday of November every year.
• Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird of the United States. But it was Thomas Jefferson who opposed him. It is believed that Franklin then named the male turkey as 'tom' to spite Jefferson.

Thanksgiving pilgrim facts

Here are some of Thanksgiving facts related to pilgrims -

• When the Pilgrims arrived in North America, the clothing of the Native Americans was made of animal skins (mainly deer skin).
• On December 11, 1620 the first Pilgrims (or Puritans, as they were initially known) landed at Plymouth Rock.
• By the fall of 1621 only half of the pilgrims, who had sailed on the Mayflower, survived. The survivors, thankful to be alive, decided to give a thanksgiving feast.
• The Plymouth Pilgrims were the first to celebrate the Thanksgiving and it lasted for three days.

Food facts on Thanksgiving

• The drink that the Puritans brought with them in the Mayflower was the beer.
• The cranberry is one of only three fruits—the others are the blueberry and the Concord grape—that are entirely native to North American soil, according to the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association.
• The largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds and measured just over 12 feet long.

Thanksgiving parade trivia

Celebrations are the most integral part of Thanksgiving festival. Here are some incredible thanksgiving facts related to the celebrations and parades that take place in various parts of the world.

• In US, three towns have their names starting with the word Turkey - Texas, Turkey Creek, Louisiana and Turkey, North Carolina
• The first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade took place in New York City in 1924. It was launched by Macy's employees and featured animals from the Central Park Zoo.
• Tony Sarg, a children's book illustrator and puppeteer, designed the first giant hot air balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1927.
• Snoopy has appeared as a giant balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade more times than any other character in history. As the Flying Ace, Snoopy made his sixth appearance in the 2006 parade.

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