Interesting Facts About Thanksgiving

Did you know that the first Thanksgiving celebration lasted for 3 days, and approximately 280 million turkeys are consumed on Thanksgiving Day…?

In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.
The Pilgrims in Plymouth were the first to celebrate Thanksgiving.
The first Thanksgiving celebration lasted for 3 days.
Thanksgiving officially became a national holiday in 1941.
The Pilgrims did not use forks; they ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers.
Although Thanksgiving is considered an American holiday, it is also celebrated in Canada on the second Monday in October.
In the United States, approximately 280 million turkeys are consumed on Thanksgiving.
Fossil evidence shows that turkeys existed in the Americas 10 million years ago.
Columbus thought the land he discovered was connected to India, where peacocks were abundant, and he believed turkeys were a type of peacock (in reality, turkeys are a type of pheasant). Therefore, he named them “tuka”, meaning “peacock” in the Tamil language of India.

91% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving.

Turkey is one of the first animals to be domesticated in the Americas.
91% of Americans enjoy turkey on Thanksgiving.
Over 40 million servings of green bean casserole are served on Thanksgiving.
The wishbone of the turkey is used in a lucky ritual on Thanksgiving.
A frightened turkey can run at speeds up to 20 miles per hour.
According to the American Automobile Association, approximately 42.2 million people in the U.S. drive at least 50 miles to their Thanksgiving destinations each year.
Surveys indicate that each Thanksgiving meal costs an average of about $50 for a family of 10, which is around $5 per person. As a result, Thanksgiving often has a lot of leftover food due to the large quantities prepared.
Minnesota is considered the top turkey-producing state in the U.S.
About 20% of the cranberries consumed in the U.S. each year are eaten on Thanksgiving.
Since President Harry Truman’s time, each president has pardoned a turkey on Thanksgiving.
In the United States, there are three locations named after Thanksgiving: Turkey, Texas; Turkey Creek, Louisiana; and Turkey, North Carolina. Additionally, there are 9 towns in the U.S. named “Turkey,” with three of them in Kansas.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) estimates that more than 42 million Americans travel 50 miles or more from home during Thanksgiving each year.
American football is one of the traditions closely associated with Thanksgiving. From amateur to professional levels, most teams play a game during the Thanksgiving weekend. Many high schools refer to this game as Turkey Day or the Turkey Bowl Game.
The day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday: The day after Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season, which is the busiest time for shoppers, with major stores offering the biggest deals of the year. There are many explanations for the origin of the name Black Friday, with the two most popular suggesting that the term was coined by the police to describe the disruption caused by crowds participating in sales (streets and sidewalks become chaotic) or that it originated from retailers, who claim the term is positively connected to increased sales, transforming the record of business losses noted in red ink to profits represented in black ink.
6 primary turkey-producing states in the U.S.: While Thanksgiving is celebrated in all states across America, only 6 states primarily handle most of the turkey production. These are Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, and Virginia. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the turkey production from these 6 states accounts for 69% of the total turkey supply in the U.S.
A massive amount of apple pie is consumed: In just one month around Thanksgiving (November), Americans consume approximately 50 million apple pies, according to Good Housekeeping magazine.
The average cost for each Thanksgiving feast: Estimates suggest that American families spend about $64.05 to prepare for a Thanksgiving feast (equivalent to 1.6 million VND).
The enormous calorie count in each meal: According to The Calorie Control Council (CCC), a national organization specializing in healthy living, each American consumes about 3,000 calories at each Thanksgiving meal.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, broadcast nationwide on NBC, has been held since 1924 but was interrupted for 3 years from 1942-1944 due to World War II. This parade, organized by the Macy’s retail chain, covers a distance of 2.5 miles in downtown New York. One highlight of the parade is the giant balloons shaped like cartoon characters and animals.