Thanksgiving Facts

Looking for Thanksgiving facts? Thanksgiving is the holiday to be thankful and to eat ridiculous amounts of food, but there is more to the holiday than that. If you want to learn more about Thanksgiving, you've come to the right place. Here we have some interesting facts on this wonderful holiday that will get you in a turkey kind of mood in no time. 

1. Over 200 million turkeys are sold during Thanksgiving. In America, approximately 280 million turkeys are sold during the Thanksgiving season. That's a lot of turkey! And the average weight of a Thanksgiving turkey is about 15 pounds, give or take. 
2. The first Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth, Massachusetts. This holiday was first celebrated in 1621 by the English colonists, known as the Pilgrims, in Plymouth. That's many years of "Turkey Day" celebrations, and the holiday celebration has still remained strong after all this time. 
3. Many of the popular dishes served on Thanksgiving have changed. When Thanksgiving was first celebrated in 1621, popular foods and dishes such as cranberries, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and corn were not on the table at the time. Instead, the main dishes likely consisted of foods like fish, lobster, beans, cabbage, radishes, leeks, onions, dried fruits, eggs, carrots, and hickory nuts. 
4. The first Thanksgiving lasted three days. While the modern day Thanksgiving celebration only lasts about a day, the very first Thanksgiving lasted three entire days. It seems the Pilgrims had a lot to be thankful for!
5. Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to consider Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Hale is the author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb", and she persuaded Lincoln to declare Thanksgiving as an actual holiday. In 1863, Lincoln set aside the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day from then on. 
6. Turkey is full of protein. That's right, turkey actually contains more protein than beef or chicken. Although it isn't quite as popular as other meats throughout the year, it is definitely the most widely prepared dish on Thanksgiving. 
7. The Pilgrims sailed on the Mayflower. The Pilgrims sailed all the way across the Atlantic ocean on the "Mayflower", just to get to North America. Soon after arriving to America, they celebrated the first Thanksgiving.