It’s that time of year turkey day, Thanksgiving. It is a time when we get ready for a big feast with family, friends and good times. With all that has gone on over the past year with floods, fires, hurricanes and other disasters, it has been a trying year. For those of us who were able to escape from those life changing situations, it will be a real day of Thanksgiving. So let us all enjoy getting together with family and friends for this holiday as we have much to be thankful for.

Here are some fun facts about this holiday you may, or may not know……….

The first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 and there was no turkey served. Venison, geese, fish and duck was the meal. Also no cranberries or mashed potatoes. The first Thanksgiving included 50 Pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag Indians and lasted three days.

Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be named the US national bird, particularly because it was one of the staple foods for the Pilgrims. However, Thomas Jefferson, our 3rd president, thought the eagle would be a better option.

Sarah Josepha Hale, the woman who wrote the classic song “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” convinced President Lincoln in 1863 to make Thanksgiving a national holiday, after writing letters for 17 years campaigning for this to happen.

Since some Novembers had 5 Thursdays, the congress and senate made a new resolution in 1941 aimed at removing the confusion surrounding Thanksgiving. The then US President, Roosevelt, signed it, proclaiming the fourth Thursday of every November as the national Thanksgiving Day.

TV dinners are the result of Thanksgiving. In 1953, Swanson had so much extra turkey (260 tons) that a salesman told them they should package it in aluminum trays with other sides like sweet potatoes — and the first TV dinner was born!

One of the most popular parts of Thanksgiving is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It all began in 1924, but it will not be the 100th year in 2024. Due to WW II there was no parades in 1942, 1943 and 1944. So the 100th will be held in 2026. The first parade consisted of 400 employees marching. There were no floats or large balloons and featured only live animals from Central Park Zoo. The first inflated balloon was Felix the Cat and appeared in 1927.

The Butterball Turkey hotline answers over 100,000 questions regarding everything about turkeys from both men and women every November and early December.

How much turkey is consumed on Thanksgiving throughout the U.S.? Americans cook up 48 million turkeys each Thanksgiving which is roughly 535 million pounds of turkey eaten on Thanksgiving. That is a LOT of turkey!

Another big food item for Thanksgiving is potatoes On average, Americans purchase about 250 million pounds of potatoes. Aside from turkey, some 77 million pounds of ham is purchased during Thanksgiving week.

An estimated 50 million pumpkin pies are eaten on Thanksgiving. But according to The American Pie Council, more Americans prefer apple pie overall — pumpkin comes in second place.

The Presidential pardoning of a turkey began in 1947 by President Truman and has become an official act ever since. Some of the turkeys pardoned have become Grand Masters at parades in Disneyland and Disney World.

Minnesota raises the most turkeys in the U.S. Just six states, Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia, Missouri and Indiana produce two-thirds of the birds raised in the United States.

The NFL football games on Thanksgiving began in 1934 when the Detroit Lions played the Chicago Bears. The Lions have hosted a Thanksgiving Day game ever since and the next longest are the Dallas Cowboys since 1966.

We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. For those in the military who will be away from family and loved ones, we thank you for your service and for keeping us safe.