… Because we want to enable you to dazzle your children, relatives and friends at the Thanksgiving table this year, may we serve up to you these interesting and slightly arcane facts about this most universal of all U.S. holidays, for you to share as you choose…
  
 
What you DON’T learn from the School Thanksgiving Play:

  • Thanksgiving does owe its roots to the first harvest the Pilgrims celebrated in Plymouth in 1621; and they did ask their Native American neighbors (the Wampanoag– you knew that, right?) to join them in appreciation for their help that enabled them to survive their first winter there.
  • However, it was not viewed as a celebration of “thanksgiving” until later… and there was no turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie; their menu featured fowl, venison and fish.
  • Thanksgiving did not become an annual, national holiday until 1863, when President Lincoln proclaimed a national day in which to express thanks for the many blessings enjoyed by Americans.
  • In 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously modified Lincoln’s chosen date of the last Thursday of November to the second-to-last Thursday of November. Why? To extend the post- Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas shopping season.
  • Since 1947, or possibly earlier, the National Turkey Federation has presented the President of the United States with one live turkey and two dressed turkeys. The live turkey is pardoned (as this one was by President Truman) and lives out the rest of its days on a peaceful farm.


And… some FUN FACTS (to be used when when table discussion of world (or worse, family) politics needs to be averted:

  • There were 256 million turkeys raised in the US in 2005; 624 million pounds of cranberries; 1.6 billion pounds of sweet potatoes and 998 million pounds of pumpkins.
  • The average American consumes 13.7 pounds of turkey and 4.7 pounds of sweet potatoes in a year.
  • Thanksgiving football goes back to 1876, when the Intercollegiate Football Association held its championship on Thanksgiving Day.
  • There are 3 places in the U.S. specifically named after the holiday’s traditional main course. Turkey, Texas, was the most populous in 2004, with 496 residents; followed by Turkey Creek, La. (357); and Turkey, N.C. (267).
  • And finally, contrary to popular perception, turkey actually does not make you drowsy. Turkey does contain tryptophan, an amino acid which is a natural sedative. But the amount gobbled even during a holiday feast is too small to have an appreciable effect. That lazy, lethargic feeling so many of us get is most likely due to having such a big, carbo-loaded meal (generally supplemented with some spirits)…

Sources: Answers.com, U.S. Census Dept., snopes.com

WE are thankful for your support and participation… and we wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!
 

Enjoyed this Momorandum? Forward it to a friend… and visit us often at www.executivemoms.com!

Sincerely,