Family, feasting, fun - there's a reason people get excited for Thanksgiving! Find out more in Thanksgiving Fun Facts!
Holiday History 1f5641
The first 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 ed them they convinced to celebrate the harvest with a three day feast instead!
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Turkey Tidbits 2fw5r
- 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 4ql2g
- 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 524a4n
What do you like most about Thanksgiving? Let us know in the comments section below!
