Top 10 facts about Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving dates back to a three-day feast in 1621

THIS is the fourth Thursday in November, which is when the United States celebrates Thanksgiving.

 

1. Thanksgiving dates back to a three-day feast in 1621 shared by 50 Pilgrim Fathers and about 90 native Americans to celebrate a good harvest. 

2. George Washington proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving Day, held on November 26, 1789. 

 

3. It was then held sporadically until 1863 when Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving as an annual holiday on the last Thursday in November. 

4. He was persuaded to make it a holiday by Sarah Josepha Hale, author of Mary Had A Little Lamb.

 

More food is eaten in the USA on Thanksgiving Day than on any other day of the year

 

Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October

 

 

Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October

 

5. In 1941, President Franklin D Roosevelt changed the date from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday.

6. Roosevelt’s opponents said the new date was disrespectful to Lincoln and called it Franksgiving. 

7. More food is eaten in the USA on Thanksgiving Day than on any other day of the year. 

8. Since 1947, it has been traditional for the US President to “pardon” a turkey before Thanksgiving and save it from the feast. 

 

George Washington proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving Day

9. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October.

10. “Postprandial somnolescence”, or falling asleep after a heavy meal, is also known as “Thanksgiving food coma”.