Thanksgiving Day By : Chanachon “ Nam ” Boonphakdee
Thanksgiving Day By : Chanachon “ Nam ” Boonphakdee
We all know the history of Thanksgiving : the original pilgrims from England settle down at Massachusetts ’ Bay in 1620 . After surviving their first winter , which killed half of the original group , they had a good harvest and decided to hold a feast to thank God for their fortunes . However , there may be somethings that surprise you about this historic holiday . Here are 10 facts about Thanksgiving Day :
Fun fact # 1 : The first thanksgiving feasts lasted for three days . It also included 50 pilgrims and 70 Native American Indians . However , historians agree that there were only five women present at the feast . This is probably because the pilgrim ’ s first winter killed off many of the women .
Fun fact # 2 : No turkey was present at the first Thanksgiving feast . So what was on the menu then ? Well , deer , venison , duck , oyster , eel , lobster and fish . Mashed potatoes also weren ’ t on the menu . And no , turducken wasn ’ t a thing back then .
Fun fact # 3 : The first Thanksgiving feast was eaten with only knives and spoons . “ What about forks ?,” you may ask . Well ……… forks weren ’ t introduced to the Americas until ten years afterwards . Even then , it wasn ’ t a popular utensil until the 19 th century .
Fun fact # 4 : Thanksgiving almost became a fast---not a feast ! Yeah you know how Islam has a period of time where followers abstain from consuming food ? ( i . e . Ramadan ) Well , the original idea of the Pilgrims was to thank God by forgoing food as well . That all changed when the Native Indians decided to join them . So with that , thanksgiving became a feast , not a fast ( and let ’ s all be happy that it did !).
Fun fact # 5 : Thanksgiving became a national holiday 200 years after it first started . President Abraham Lincoln was persuaded by Sarah Hale ( the same woman who wrote “ Mary had a little lamb ”) after she had campaigned for it for 17 years … Talk about dedication .
Fun fact # 6 : Every year the President of the United States would pardon one very specific turkey from ending up on a dish . The tradition started in 1947 with President Harry Truman . Most recently , Barack Obama pardoned a turkey named Courage who was then flown to Disneyland and appointed as Grand Marshall for the parade there .
Fun fact # 7 : Benjamin Franklin had originally intended for the turkey to be the United States ’ official bird instead of the bald eagle . His reason ? He considers the turkey to be “ a much more respectable bird ” and “ a true original native of America .” While he considered the eagle “ a rank coward ,” Franklin believed the turkey to be “ a bird of courage ” that “ would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on .”
Fun fact # 8 : Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin ' s first meal in space after walking on the moon was foil packets with roasted turkey .
Fun fact # 9 : Americans eat 46 million turkeys on thanksgiving every year , 22 million on Christmas , and 19 million on Easter .
Fun fact # 10 : Turkey meat may be more nutritious than you might think . It has more protein than chicken or beef , it also has very little fat compared to other types of meat . So uhh , this might be a good excuse to buy more turkey meat for your daily consumption .
We hope you have a great Thanksgiving time and spend time with your family . Just remember : be thankful for what you have . Hopefully you ’ ve learned something from our ten fun facts about Thanksgiving .
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