Interesting Facts About Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving was first celebrated in 1621. It was founded by British settlers who arrived in America the year before. So they wanted to pay homage to the Lord for a generous harvest. Here are some interesting facts about thanksgiving day you might not know:
Once a celebration of the glorification of higher powers, Thanksgiving has long lost its religious leitmotiv and turned into a large-scale secular celebration marking the beginning of the family vacation period. However, this day is rooted in the history of the first American settlements, one of which was the modern state of Massachusetts – on its territory, settlers from England founded the Plymouth Colony (now Plymouth). An Indian tribe taught hungry travelers how to grow proper crops, and the first harvest was so rich that the governor proposed a Thanksgiving holiday.
Then, in the distant 17th century, the pioneers celebrated together with the king of the Wampanoag tribe, Massasoit, and 90 Indians for three whole days. Over time, each successive generation of Americans added something new to the Thanksgiving tradition. Here are some of the most interesting facts about thanksgiving day – the world famous holiday in the USA.
In the United States,
Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November and in Canada on the second Monday of October. Additionally, some historians are of the opinion that the origins of the holiday originate not from Plymouth, but from Florida. In 1565, the Spanish fleet landed off the coast of modern Florida and founded the settlement of St. Augustine. Along with the indigenous people of Timukkua, 800 settlers shared a commemorative meal.
In 18th century America,
Thanksgiving was celebrated for victory over the British at the Battle of Saratoga. In 1789, George Washington declared a universal celebration to mark the end of the Revolutionary War and the ratification of the constitution.
Thomas Jefferson was the only Founding Father
And the first American president to abandon the national Thanksgiving celebration because he believed that the Church and the State (at that time the holiday was already religious) should be separated from each other.
Thanksgiving became a holiday
in 1863 thanks to the efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale, author of the famous song Mary had a little lamb. The woman wrote letters to Abraham Lincoln for 17 years asking him to legalize the holiday, and the president agreed, calling the country for an annual celebration on the last Thursday in November. Sarah Hale is called “Thanksgiving Mom.”
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In the records of the festive meal of the English pioneers in Plymouth,
there is no information about the turkey, although the bird lived in those stops. The Indians brought deer, mussels, lobsters and perches to complement the first significant harvest (including pumpkin). At that time, potatoes had not gained popularity among the British. So celebrants probably ate turnips and peanuts familiar to indigenous peoples. Today, about 90% of Americans cook turkey on Thanksgiving. More than 46 million carcasses are consumed annually during the holiday, each weighing an average of 14 kg.
According to legend,
in the late 18th century in the city of Colchester, Connecticut, Thanksgiving was postponed for a week due to the lack of molasses for pumpkin pie, without which the festive table was impossible. The largest pumpkin pie was baked on Thanksgiving in 2005. It weighed 916 kg and was listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
Several Thanksgiving parades are held every year,
the oldest of them is Macy’s Parade in New York. It was first held in 1924, when the owners of the iconic department store decided to attract customers for New Year’s shopping. This is due to Black Friday, which has gone from a sad day that marks the fall of the gold market to a consumer holiday.
This year will be the 95th parade, which Macy’s has decided to hold in pre-pandemic format. Traditionally, the parade route will pass through Manhattan. And the procession will be decorated with dozens of balloons in the form of comic book characters and cult films, including Baby Yoda.
In recent decades,
the presidents of the United States on Thanksgiving have forgiven one of the two turkeys destined for the festive table. Barack Obama saved everyone’s life during his presidency. In 2021, American movie and show business stars asked President Joe Biden to forgive turkeys in a special way.
According to celebrities including Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Ricky Gervais and others, the usual shipment of forgiven turkeys to farms and zoos is not suitable for birds. The star’s statement was curated by animal rights organization Farm Sanctuary, which promised to take turkeys into their care and provide individual care in addition to a healthy community life.
Thirteen years after Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1876,
the college football teams of Yale and Princeton played a game to celebrate. Since then, the connection between the holiday and football is unbreakable. And competitions between colleges or even neighborhood courtyards have become a tradition.
Turkey meat was the first meal
of astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin when they landed on the moon.