Fun Facts for Your Thanksgiving Celebration
November 26, 2024
Each year, on the 4th Thursday of November, Americans gather to give thanks, enjoy the company of friends and family, and feast on traditional Thanksgiving foods.
While most Americans may be able to tell you a vague history of how Thanksgiving started, there are a lot of facts about the national holiday that many people don’t know. Luckily, we have come across a great article from Parade.com that shares 45 Thanksgiving facts that will stun and delight your guests this year.
So, without further ado, here are a few of our favorites.
The first Thanksgiving Day Parade was NOT Macy’s
Yep, you read that right! Although the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is probably the most well-known, the Philadelphia Gimbel Brothers Department Store was the first to put on a parade for the holiday.
Their first parade, which took place in1920, consisted of just 15 cars and 50 people.
The highlight of the parade, however, was Santa riding in on his sleigh, to welcome the Christmas season.
The average person consumes 3,150-4,500 calories on Thanksgiving.
3,150-4,500 may sound like an insane number of calories, but when you add up all the turkey, yams, mashed potatoes, etc., and then throw in a slice (or three) of pie, it makes sense.
No wonder our pants feel a bit tight after our annual feast!
Frozen TV dinners are the result of a Thanksgiving mistake.
In the early 1950s, frozen TV dinners did not exist. However, that all changed when, in 1953, a Swanson’s employee accidentally ordered 260 TONS of turkey for Thanksgiving.
Not wanting to waste food (or money) on the mistake, the company turned the excess turkey into frozen dinners. And the rest is history!
Not all turkeys gobble.
What does a turkey say? If you’re like most English speakers, your answer is probably “gobble-gobble.”
Contrary to what most of us were taught growing up, though, the famous gobble attributed to turkeys is only actually a thing that male turkeys do.
Female turkeys omit a sound that is more of a cackle.
Black Friday is not just for shoppers.
The day after Thanksgiving is widely known as the busiest shopping day of the year. However, it’s not just stores that are insanely busy on Black Friday.
The day after Thanksgiving is also one of the busiest for plumbers, who are frequently called upon to help with issues caused by overuse of garbage disposals and toilets on Thanksgiving.
