Gratifying Facts About Thanksgiving And Its History
Everyone loves Thanksgiving. No work, no school, big turkey, and your loving family—what could be better? There’s a lot of history behind the holiday, and we do a lot as a society to prepare each year for the feast.
To leave you more enlightened next feast, here are 24 facts about everyone’s (second) favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.
1. Officially Thankful
Abraham Lincoln officially declared Thanksgiving a national holiday during his presidency, over 200 years after the first celebration. The date also bounced around over the years before finally sticking on the fourth Thursday of November.
Took ‘em long enough. But sometimes, the best things in life take time.
2. Snoopy Flies No-More
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is one of the many highlights of the holiday for a lot of people, including Peanuts fans. Snoopy the Dog’s balloon was a staple of the parade on-and-off until 2015 when he was replaced with Charlie Brown. I, for one, say bring back Snoopy!
3. Spare the Turkey
One of the funnier Thanksgiving rites is the pardoning of a turkey. It was started in the 40s by President Harry S. Truman and became a tradition during the presidency of George H. W. Bush.
During the ceremony the president pardons the turkey, meaning it won’t be eaten and instead gets to live its life to the fullest. Let the tradition go on!
4. Cheat Day
According to The American Council on Fitness, an average of 3,000 calories are consumed on the holiday per person. That’s a big number, but frankly it’s not going to stop most of us.
