With Thanksgiving coming up next Thursday in the U.S., I thought it would be fun to share some interesting facts about this historical holiday.

Note: You can always turn these into a trivia game - much to the delight or chagrin of your company- while waiting for the turkey to cook!

Abraham Lincoln was the first president to declare Thanksgiving observance for the last Thursday in November.

President Roosevelt officially made Thanksgiving a national holiday and set the date as the 4th Thursday of November.

The 1st Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 among the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians and lasted for 3 days. The actual date is unknown but is thought to be some time between September 21 and November 9th.

Food items most likely available for the first Thanksgiving:

• Turkeys, geese, ducks, partridge, and other waterfowl
• Venison
• Fish and Seafood
• Wheat flour
• Cornmeal
• Barley (mostly used for making beer)
• Beer
• Nuts
• Vegetables
• Dried Berries or Plums

Sorry, but these modern-day dishes were not present:

• Ham
• Sweet Potatoes/Yams
• Corn on the Cob
• Popcorn
• Cranberry Sauce
• Traditional Pumpkin Pie

272 million turkeys were raised in the U.S. this year!

Minnesota raises the most turkeys in the U.S. - 46 million of them! (It's got to be awfully loud on those turkey farms!)

Three towns in the U.S. are named after this Thanksgiving bird:

• Turkey, Texas
• Turkey Creek, Louisiana
• Turkey, North Carolina

Turkeys can drown if they look up when it's raining! (Keep them away from thunder clouds and sprinklers!)

And finally: The average person consumes about...ready for this?.... 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving!!! (OK, maybe I didn't want to know this fact!)

Photo credit: kindhelper

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