The History Channel is a wonderful place.
Some years ago The History Channel produced programs on the history of various holidays, and now they run them in the middle of the night, I think that might mean they are now traditions.
This was the first year that I got to see the one on Thanksgiving. Because I have a blog and am always in need of factual information provided to me by Google and Wikipedia, and sometimes Martha Stewart I already knew some things about the history of Thanksgiving, but I learned a lot more.
Also I was very lucky to have had an excellent 5th grade teacher, who taught us sometimes from memory....no she wasn't a Pilgrim, I won't spoil the surprise. Where was I? oh yes. Please note that any statistic quoted here is from a program produced in 2010.
I completely agree with whoever said that Thanksgiving is the perfect excuse for a good meal, though one really shouldn't need an excuse for that or an excuse for being Thankful.
This was the first year that I got to see the one on Thanksgiving. Because I have a blog and am always in need of factual information provided to me by Google and Wikipedia, and sometimes Martha Stewart I already knew some things about the history of Thanksgiving, but I learned a lot more.
Also I was very lucky to have had an excellent 5th grade teacher, who taught us sometimes from memory....no she wasn't a Pilgrim, I won't spoil the surprise. Where was I? oh yes. Please note that any statistic quoted here is from a program produced in 2010.
I completely agree with whoever said that Thanksgiving is the perfect excuse for a good meal, though one really shouldn't need an excuse for that or an excuse for being Thankful.
Turkey doesn't made you sleepy because it is loaded with tryptophan.it
has less than chicken or cheese. So the 91% of household that have turkey will have to find something else to blame their afternoon nap on. The English felt that game or fowl were luxury foods, the proper main courses for a celebratory dinner, perhaps that is why we don't have pork or beef, but that is my speculation. Turkey was a large and readily available fowl, and with some encouragement from Ben Franklin, who in,1784 said the wily wild turkey should be our national symbol because the "turkey was a bird of courage", as a sort of consolation prize it became our national dinner.
Cranberry sauces, 20% of ocean Sprays crop sells the week before Thanksgiving. And did you know that a ripe cranberry has air content, that's why they flood the fields to harvest them. Dropping a cranberry on the floor will tell you if it is ripe, because ripe berries bounce up to 4 inches.
The busiest travel day occurs in the summer, not at Thanksgiving.
Final "fun fact" I promise. The day after Thanksgiving is a very busy day for plumbers.
According to a letter written by Edward Winslow, the feast consisted of "cod, bass, small lobsters, onions, corn, bread, salt, spinach and arugula" fowl was also mentioned, but not specifically turkey, same goes for cranberries, and pumpkin. After the meal the men participated in games, which most likely included marksmanship. Later in the day a group of Wampanoag men arrived with 5 deer to add to the feasting. The event was largely lost to history until Edward Winslow's letter was found over a century later.
Enter Sara Josepha Hale, editor of "Godey's Ladies Book", who's intent was to put Thanksgiving on the calendar. And her choice of day was the last Thursday of November. Thursday being the day that the minister gave his mid week sermon. SJH, began her crusade to have what was a locally observed Holiday in New England into a legal holiday for all. She believed that Thanksgiving would bring the nation together. Her Choice for the day, might have been influenced by George Washington's declaration of a national "Day of Thanks" on Nov. 26th.
Abraham Lincoln established the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving, his hope also was that it would unite the nation, however it still wasn't a national holiday. Not until 76 years later when in 1939 the date was moved back one week because FDR felt it would help improve the Christmas shopping season. In 1941 the congress made the 4th Thursday of November the official, law of the Land Thanksgiving. Which was occasionally called "Franksgiving" at that time.
Sorry, I left out a few "fun facts". Gimbles Brothers sponsored the first Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1920, but Macy's began their Christmas Parade in 1924. After the parade the balloons were released and then returned to the empty Tootsie Roll factory where they spent most of their year. In 1932 one of the balloons had a near miss with an airplane and the practice of releasing the balloons was halted. Sadly all of those old balloons were recycled to help the war effort during WWII.
According to a letter written by Edward Winslow, the feast consisted of "cod, bass, small lobsters, onions, corn, bread, salt, spinach and arugula" fowl was also mentioned, but not specifically turkey, same goes for cranberries, and pumpkin. After the meal the men participated in games, which most likely included marksmanship. Later in the day a group of Wampanoag men arrived with 5 deer to add to the feasting. The event was largely lost to history until Edward Winslow's letter was found over a century later.
Enter Sara Josepha Hale, editor of "Godey's Ladies Book", who's intent was to put Thanksgiving on the calendar. And her choice of day was the last Thursday of November. Thursday being the day that the minister gave his mid week sermon. SJH, began her crusade to have what was a locally observed Holiday in New England into a legal holiday for all. She believed that Thanksgiving would bring the nation together. Her Choice for the day, might have been influenced by George Washington's declaration of a national "Day of Thanks" on Nov. 26th.
Abraham Lincoln established the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving, his hope also was that it would unite the nation, however it still wasn't a national holiday. Not until 76 years later when in 1939 the date was moved back one week because FDR felt it would help improve the Christmas shopping season. In 1941 the congress made the 4th Thursday of November the official, law of the Land Thanksgiving. Which was occasionally called "Franksgiving" at that time.
Sorry, I left out a few "fun facts". Gimbles Brothers sponsored the first Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1920, but Macy's began their Christmas Parade in 1924. After the parade the balloons were released and then returned to the empty Tootsie Roll factory where they spent most of their year. In 1932 one of the balloons had a near miss with an airplane and the practice of releasing the balloons was halted. Sadly all of those old balloons were recycled to help the war effort during WWII.
