Family, feasting, fun - there's a reason people get excited for Thanksgiving! Find out more in Thanksgiving Fun Facts!
Holiday History
The first American Thanksgiving took place in the fall of 1621, it lasted three days and was attended by pilgrims and Wampanoag Native Americans. Thanksgiving was almost a fast (when people don't eat food) because the pilgrims traditionally gave thanks by praying, but luckily when the Wampanoag joined them they convinced to celebrate the harvest with a three day feast instead!
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Turkey Tidbits
- Every year the American president pardons two turkeys for Thanksgiving - this tradition dates all the way back to President Abraham Lincoln, who pardoned his son's turkeys one year, but became official in 1947
- A wild turkey can run 20 miles per hour when scared
- The average turkey weighs 15 pounds
- Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the American national bird, not the eagle
- The heaviest turkey on record was 86 pounds - just think of the leftovers!
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Did You Know
- Thanksgiving is the reason we have TV dinners! In 1953 Swanson had so much extra turkey that a salesperson suggested they package it in aluminum and sell it with sides like sweet potatoes - ta-da! TV dinners had arrived.
- The first American Thanksgiving had no turkey, the menu for the holiday was: eel, venison, ducks, geese, lobster and fish.
- The famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade began in 1924, and instead of helium balloons and pop music stars, it was a march with 400 employees and wild animals from the New York City zoo!
- Astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong's first meal after walking on the moon was turkey.
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Have Your Say
What do you like most about Thanksgiving? Let us know in the comments section below!
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