Thanksgiving Facts and Trivia

Residents of California eat more turkey than any other Americans.

The first Thanksgiving in Plymouth had the traditional Thanksgiving foods of turkey, pumpkin, and berries. But they also ate deer, fish, and lobsters.

Beer accompanied the Pilgrims across the ocean on the Mayflower. Pilgrims enjoyed beer, obviously.

The state of Minnesota raises more turkeys each year than other states. Massachusetts leads the way for cranberry production. Illinois produces the most pumpkins. North Carolina is the leading producer of sweet potatoes.

The average age of the Mayflower Pilgrims was 32. The voyage across the ocean took longer than two months.

There were about 100 Pilgrims arriving in Plymouth on the Mayflower. Out of the original Pilgrims, less than half survived the first year. There were only 5 women left to cook the Thanksgiving feast.

The very first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621 lasted for several days. There were more Native Americans present than Pilgrims, 90 to 53.

The Pilgrims undoubtedly would not have survived without the help of neighboring Wampanoag chief, Massasoit, and another Native American, Squanto. Squanto served as interpreter and showed the Pilgrims how to grow crops and catch food. Massasoit and his tribe actually supplied the Pilgrims with food when they were starving.

Did you know that Ben Franklin wanted to proclaim the turkey America's national bird?
It's true. He thought the turkey was a noble bird. Keep in mind that this was the wild turkey, not the dumb, domesticated turkey we think of for Thanksgiving dinner. Thomas Jefferson strongly opposed Franklin, and wanted the eagle to be the symbol of the new country.

Some of our presidents are descendants of the original Mayflower pilgrims, including George Bush and his presidential son, John Adams and son, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Ulysses S. Grant.

President George Washington proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving Day in 1789. Many presidents following him also proclaimed Thanksgiving Days. President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving Day to be occurring on the last Thursday in November 1863. President Roosevelt signed into law in 1941 that the official date of Thanksgiving would be the fourth November every year.

The United States isn't the only country that has a Thanksgiving Day. Canada also celebrates Thanksgiving in October.

The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade has been around for almost a century- it started during the 1920s. The very first Macy's parade balloon was Felix the Cat.

The day after Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year