by Wayne Horne
Thanksgiving is the time of year that many families, extended families, and friends gather for the holiday celebration and share memories of times past and hopes for the future. Most gatherings will block out the tribulations faced in our day to day lives. For those who may be looking for Thanksgiving conversation at mealtime, I’ve gathered a few historical and trivia facts to lighten the temptation to engage in more intense dialogue.
According to one source, the first Thanksgiving in newly “discovered” America, was actually the first-ever autumn harvest celebration. In 1621 ninety Wampanoag Native Americans and fifty Plymouth colonists, commonly known as the Pilgrims, celebrated for three days probably with food and drink. What you may not know was there were only five women present. I wonder if they got stuck with the cooking and clean up?
Congress passed a resolution in 1789 requesting President George Washington name a national Thanksgiving Day and he proclaimed November 26 as the day. Subsequent presidents proclaimed different days and months for national thanksgiving celebrations until President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving Day would be on the last Thursday of November every year. That was modified by Congress and President Franklin Roosevelt in 1941 to be the fourth Thursday of November every year. Some have speculated since that it was done that way to provide a longer Christmas shopping period, but there is no proof of that.
The traditional Thanksgiving dinner is comprised of roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn cranberry sauce and, of course, pumpkin pie. Americans consume over 45 million turkeys on that day, along with 250 million pounds of potatoes. One side note, turkey was not part of the first Thanksgiving, according to the story. Minnesota raises the most turkeys followed by North Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia, Missouri and Indiana et al account for two-thirds of the birds raised in the U.S.
The tradition of football games on Thanksgiving Day started in 1876 when Yale and Princeton started the annual tradition of football on turkey day. The NFL began the tradition of playing on the holiday in 1934 when the Detroit Lions played the Chicago Bears. The Bears won 19-16 and went on to a 13-0 season. They lost the NFL championship that year to the New York Giants. The Lions, since 1934, and the Dallas Cowboys, since 1966, are the teams that traditionally play every Thanksgiving Day.
Of course, many people travel to be with family and friends on the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Interestingly, more people travel to Orlando, Florida than anywhere else on the Thanksgiving holiday. No explanation was found as to why, but I did find out that Thanksgiving Eve is the busiest bar night of the year, “Drinksgiving”, perhaps.
One obscure fact I came across was that those attending the first Thanksgiving feast ate with only spoons and knives. Forks were invented about ten years later by then Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts. The fork didn’t become popular until the 1800’s. Another obscure fact was about the song “Jingle Bells”. It was originally titled “One Horse Open Sleigh” and originally composed to be sung on Thanksgiving Day. Hope that doesn’t spoil it for the many times it will be sung for the Christmas season.
I wish everyone a happy and bountiful Thanksgiving Day.
Stay tuned…
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