Thanksgiving is a festive occasion, celebrated with much enthusiasm and
excitement in many parts of the world. It is an occasion when celebrators thank
the Almighty for His benign presence in their lives. Gratitude is expressed
towards God, for all the joys and happiness people experience in their lives.
There are many interesting, rather intriguing facts associated with the
Thanksgiving Day, often termed as trivia. The article comes up with a collection
of such less known facts about the festival. Read on and increase your knowledge
about Thanksgiving.
Interesting Facts About Thanksgiving
* Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. in the
United States.
* In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday of October.
* Plymouth Pilgrims were the first to celebrate the Thanksgiving in what we
today known as the United States.
* The first Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days.
* In 2007, Thanksgiving meals were attended by 84% of the general population of
US adults.
* Estimates establish that 88% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving.
* The top five most popular ways to serve leftover Thanksgiving turkey are:
sandwich, soup or stew, casserole, stir-fry, & salad.
* More than 94% of Thanksgiving dinners include cranberry sauce.
* According to the National Turkey Federation, about 24% of Americans purchase
fresh turkeys for Thanksgiving and 69% purchase frozen turkeys.
* The state of New York officially made Thanksgiving Day an annual custom in
1817.
* Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of a magazine, started a Thanksgiving campaign
in 1827. It was result of her efforts only that in 1863, Thanksgiving was
observed as a day for national thanksgiving and prayer.
* Abraham Lincoln issued a 'Thanksgiving Proclamation' on October 3, 1863 and
officially fixed the last Thursday of November as the national day for
Thanksgiving. Earlier, the presidents used to make an annual proclamation to
specify the day when Thanksgiving would be held.
* The world record of turkey is held by a tom that weighed 86 pounds.
* All turkeys sold in US are both hormone and steroid free. No hormones have
been approved for use in turkeys. The larger size of today's turkeys is due to
genetic improvement, better feed and modern management practices.
* Californians are the largest consumers of turkeys in the United States.
* Many people report drowsiness after eating Thanksgiving dinner. While turkey
often receives the blame, studies suggest that the carbohydrate-rich meal may
cause sleepiness, by increasing the number of tryptophans in the brain. The
multi-coursed and carbohydrate-loaded meal consumed on Thanksgiving is more
likely the cause of the drowsiness, not the turkey meat.
* The Guinness Book of Records states that the greatest dressed weight recorded
for a turkey is 39.09kg (86lbs), at the annual "heaviest turkey" competition
held in London, on December 12, 1989.
|
|
