Thanksgiving Trivia
Amaze your friends at Thanksgiving with your knowledge about this Thanksgiving holiday, its traditions, and its roots. There are countless traditions, signs, and symbols to mark and enjoy. You’ll enjoy the knowledge you gain from both Thanksgiving trivia as well as Turkey trivia.
Thanksgiving Trivia
- The Mayflower pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indian tribe celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621. It was a three-day feast celebrating the harvest.
- There were 102 passengers on the Mayflower. It took 66 days at sea to reach the New World.
- In 1789, President George Washington was the first president to issue a Thanksgiving Proclamation.
- President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863.
- Historians believe pumpkins were on the menu at the first Thanksgiving in 1621. But, it wasn’t pumpkin pie. Native Americans usually used it in a stew, boiled or baked pumpkins.
- Thanksgiving was the first federal holiday.
- When offering thanks, Americans are most thankful for family.
- Several countries celebrate some form of this holiday. But, they are not all on the same date, nor for the same exact reasons.
- Among the countries celebrating a Thanksgiving holiday are Australia, Canada, Germany, Grenada, Liberia, Grenada, Netherlands, Saint Lucia, and of course the United States.
- Americans consume between 2,500 and 4,500 calories at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Please pass the stuffing.
- An estimated 50 million pumpkin pies are consumed on Thanksgiving.
- Campbell’s estimates that 40% of its mushroom soup is used sold in the days before Thanksgiving. It is primarily used in green bean casseroles. See Campbell’s Green Bean Casserole recipe.
More Thanksgiving Facts and Trivia
- Plan on serving 1/3 to 1/2 cup of gravy per person for Thanksgiving dinner. Surprisingly, this is more than the normal gravy consumption when eating turkey at other meals.
- As far back as 1000 A.D., Native American Indians raised turkeys for food. Aztec Indians in Mexico were raising them as early as 200 B.C.
- The heaviest turkey weighed in at 86 pounds. The turkey, named “Tyson”, was weighed in London on December 12, 1989. Please pass the stuffing!
- Mature turkeys have about 3,500 feathers. I wonder who took the time to count them?
- The average American consumes over 15 pounds of Turkey per year.
- Americans will cook over 45 million turkeys on Thanksgiving Day.
- The National Grocers Association reports that we purchase over 214 million pounds of potatoes and 50 million pounds of sweet potatoes in the weeks leading up to the holiday.
- Over 80 million pounds of cranberries are consumed on Thanksgiving. That’s over 5 million gallons of jellied cranberry sauce. More on Cranberries.
- Speaking of cranberries, among their medicinal benefits, they help to fight and avoid colds.
- How’s that taste? Old Toms are better tasting than young Toms. Conversely, young hens taste better than old hens.
- Each year, about 3.5 million people attend Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City. The route is 2.5 miles long.
- In 1920, Gimble’s department store in Philadelphia was the first to hold a Thanksgiving parade.
- In 2016, there were over 100,000 phone calls to the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line. The average call time was 3 minutes and 8 seconds.
- According to Butterball, an unopened frozen turkey can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 years.
Thanksgiving Facts, Traditions and Symbols Abound
- Benjamin Franklin argued that Turkey should be our National Bird. He stated that it was more respectable and a native of North America.
- In 1947, the first Presidential pardon was ceremoniously given to a turkey. It is now an annual event.
- People who do not like turkey enjoy countless alternatives. They dine on everything including prime rib, pork, chicken, duck, and even seafood. Tacos anyone!?
- Sleepy after the big meal? Turkey contains an amino acid called “Tryptophan”. Tryptophan sets off a chemical chain reaction that calms you down and makes you sleepy.
- You can tell the sex of a turkey from its poop. Males form a spiral on the ground, while females leave “J” shaped poop. I’m sure you wanted to know this.
- The wishbone is a tradition of Thanksgiving. Allow the wishbone to dry. Then, two people grasp each end of the wishbone. After making a silent wish, they pull it away. Whoever gets the joint portion, gets their wish.
Related Articles
More Pumpkin Recipes by Pumpkin Nook
Pumpkin Records – The biggest pumpkin, and pumpkin pie record, and more.
Thanksgiving Stuff-A-Bration – Celebrate the holiday.
Thanksgiving Trivia, Turkey, Pumpkin Facts, FAQs. (holidayinsights.com)
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