Fun Thanksgiving Facts
By the fall of 1621, only half of the pilgrims
who had sailed on the Mayflower survived. The survivors,
thankful to be alive, decided to give a thanksgiving feast.
The first Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days.
Congress passed an official proclamation in 1941 and declared that
now onwards Thanksgiving will be observed as a legal holiday on the
fourth Thursday of November every year.
The Wampanoag Indians were the people who
taught the Pilgrims how to cultivate the land
The state of New York officially made Thanksgiving Day an annual custom in 1817.
The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade tradition began in the 1920's
The cranberry is one of only three fruits—the others are the blueberry
and the Concord grape—that are entirely native to North American soil,
according to the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association.
In France, Christmas is called Noel. This is derived from the French phrase
''les bonnes nouvelles,'' which means literally ''the good news'' and refers to the gospel.
Three towns in the U.S. take their name from the traditional Thanksgiving bird,
including Turkey, Texas (pop. 465); Turkey Creek, Louisiana (pop. 363);
and Turkey, North Carolina (pop. 270).
Snoopy has appeared as a giant balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
more times than any other character in history.
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