Thanksgiving Origin and Facts

Thanksgiving is a holiday that many Americans celebrate every year on the fourth Thursday of November. It is a time for family and friends to enjoy each other’s company, but mostly to eat a lot of good food. Thanksgiving has a long history in the United States, which has an unofficial and official beginning. There are many interesting facts about Thanksgiving showing just how big of an event it is.

According to Tobias (2017), the first Thanksgiving was in 1621 during the Fall but it was not an official holiday yet. A journalist by the name Charles Mann said it occurred when the Pilgrims had their first good harvest and while they were eating the Wampanoag tribe randomly showed up (Tobias, 2017). There are multiple different accounts so there is no way of knowing if the first Thanksgiving was in 1621 but it is the best guess. Mann said they likely ate fish stew, cornmeal mush, and game provided by the Wampanoag tribe (Tobias, 2017). It is interesting that the food associated with Thanksgiving such as turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, or cranberries were not originally eaten during the holiday.

The first recognized Thanksgiving was in July of 1623 and Connecticut made it an official holiday for the state in 1639 (Tobias, 2017). In 1789, George Washington tried to make Thanksgiving a national holiday on the last Thursday in November. Thanksgiving did not become an national holiday until Abraham Lincoln passed it in 1863 (Tobias, 2017). The last change per Tobias (2017), was when Franklin D. Roosevelt changed it in 1941 to the fourth Thursday in November. This means it took three presidents over 152 years for Thanksgiving to take place on the day it is now.

There are many interesting facts about Thanksgiving showing just how big of a holiday it is. There are no specific number on how many people celebrate Thanksgiving but according to Lyle and Roberts (2017), 88 percent of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving. Since the U.S. population is about 323 million, it means about 284 million people eat turkey during Thanksgiving. The number of people eating turkey does not indicate the number of people celebrating Thanksgiving. There could be some people who eat turkey that may not celebrate Thanksgiving and some people who do celebrate it that may eat something else. There were about 46 million turkeys eaten on Thanksgiving in 2012 (Lyle and Roberts, 2015).

Thanksgiving does not appear to be a great time of the year to be a Turkey. There is a tradition of U.S. presidents pardoning turkeys on Thanksgiving, so it is not all doom and gloom for them. There are many different activities people partake in during the holiday with 135.8 million people shopping during Thanksgiving weekend in 2015 and about 50 million people watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (Lyle and Roberts, 2015). Football games are a big activity as well with 28.5 people watching NFL games in 2016 (Russell), It would appear eating is not the only activity on Thanksgiving with many people shopping and watching TV.

Thanksgiving is a huge holiday with many people celebrating with those they care about and eating a lot of food. It is a holiday that has been celebrated for hundreds of years and it will likely continue for years to come. The common activities people partake in during the holiday is eating good food, watching TV, and shopping. Thanksgiving is great time of the year for family and friends to spend time together and appreciate life.

References

Lyles, T., Roberts, A. (2015, Nov. 25). Thanksgiving by the Numbers. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/21/living/thanksgiving-by-the-numbers/index.html

Russell J. (2016, Nov. 25). Thanksgiving 2016 by the Numbers. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/thanksgiving-2016-by-the-numbers/article/2608016

Tobias, M. (2017). The Origins of Thanksgiving. Retrieved from http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/nov/20/origins-thanksgiving/