Didja Know? Thanksgiving History Facts

Click to view image

Didja Know? Thanksgiving History Facts

Brittni Cebulak

1.)    Didja know that Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird of the United States?

2.)    Didja know that Sarah Josepha Hale, an American magazine editor, persuaded Abraham Lincoln to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday? She is also the author of the popular nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

3.)    Didja know that Abraham Lincoln issued a 'Thanksgiving Proclamation' on the third of October 1863 and officially set aside the last Thursday of November as the national day for Thanksgiving?

4.)    Didja know that the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade tradition began in the 1920's?

5.)    Didja know that in 1939, President Roosevelt proclaimed that Thanksgiving would take place on November 23rd, not November 30th, as a way to spur economic growth and extend the Christmas shopping season?

6.)    Didja know that Congress to passed a law on December 26, 1941, ensuring that all Americans would celebrate a unified Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year?

7.)    Didja know that since 1947, the National Turkey Federation has presented a live turkey and two dressed turkeys to the President? The President does not eat the live turkey—"pardons" it and allows it to live out its days on a historical farm.

8.)    Didja know that in the US, about 280 million turkeys are sold for the Thanksgiving celebrations?

9.)    Didja know that each year, the average American eats somewhere between 16 - 18 pounds of turkey?

10.) Didja know that Californians are the largest consumers of turkey in the United States?

11.) Didja know that Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States.

12.) Didja know that although Thanksgiving is widely considered an American holiday, it is also celebrated on the second Monday in October in Canada?

13.) Didja know that Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, and it is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season?

http://www.whsv.com/seasonal/misc/33852054.html