May you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving. Be safe and be sure to take this time to truly reflect on the people and things that you are thankful for.
Here is some Thanksgiving Trivia…
When was the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade held?
1924. It’s always been in New York City and the very first one featured animals from the Central Park Zoo and Macy’s employees.
What year was the first known pumpkin pie recipe recorded? 1796. The recipe appeared in American Cookery by Amelia Simmons. It was called ‘Pompkin Pudding.’ The cookbook was the first one devoted to foods native to the Americas.
Why do turkeys gobble? Do all turkeys do it? Of domesticated turkeys, only male turkeys gobble and they do so to attract hens during mating season, usually in the spring or fall. Wild turkeys gobble a bit more frequently, doing so at loud sounds and when turning in for the night, according to Almanac.com.
How long did the first Thanksgiving last? This was no turkey, venison and fish drive-by. The first Thanksgiving lasted a full three days. Three. Days. That’s how long the Pilgrims feasted with Massasoit and 90 other members of the Wampanoag tribe, according to “Thanksgiving History” on the Plimoth Plantation website.
Were cranberries served at the first Thanksgiving? Probably. There is no recorded menu of that first feast in 1621. Cranberries were eaten the Native Americans then and it’s possible that they brought some but there’s no way to know for certain, according to the University of Wisconsin’s research guide on cranberries. The USDA, however, says definitively that cranberries were at the first Thanksgiving table. Native Americans also used cranberries as a medicine to treat wounds and to dye fabric. According to History.com, “The Pilgrims adopted these uses for the fruit and gave it a name—”craneberry”—because its drooping pink blossoms in the spring reminded them of a crane.”
Which American President was the first to declare a day of Thanksgiving? George Washington. He issued a proclamation naming Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a “Day of Publick Thanksgivin,” according to the National Archives. Congress did not make Thanksgiving a national holiday until 1941.
Did the United States regularly celebrate Thanksgiving after that proclamation by Washington? Nope. Other Presidents recognized Thanksgiving after Washington, but not regularly and the date and month skipped around the calendar. It was not become a regular holiday until Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation in 1863 that the country regularly celebrated Thanksgiving, the National Archives explains here.
What does a President traditionally do for a turkey? He pardons it. As far back as the 1870s, people have given turkeys as gifts to American presidents. It was likely started by Horace Vose who began sending well fed birds to the White House at that time, and he got a nicely publicity bump from doing so. The issue of which President issued the first pardon, however, a bit murkier. To learn more about the history of the President pardoning a turkey and the dispute over who started the tradition, check out this explanation from the White House Historical Association.
How many feathers does the average turkey have? Approximately 3,000, according to the Examiner. Other sources said 3,500
What’s does Black Friday mean and when did it start? The day after Thanksgiving has been seen as the start of the holiday shopping season ever since Macy’s ended it first parade in 1924 with the arrival of Santa Claus. The term “Black Friday” comes from when accounting records were kept by hand, and red ink indicated a loss. Black Friday often marked the day when stores moved from the “red” to the “black,” making a profit.
Thanksgiving falls during Hanukkah this year. When’s the next time that will happen? Don’t hold your breath. It will be 79,043 years until the observance of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah converge. It led Asher Weintraub, a tween from New York City, to invent the “menurkey,” a turkey-shaped menorah. You can learn more about it at menurkey.com.
Trivia from http://www.chicagonow.com.
