A Day of Thanksgiving

The November 20th Chicago Tribune had an article covering the history of the day we're celebrating.

It is more than a day or two off work or school. And I notice more and more schools getting off on Wednesday. It is more than the day before Black Friday, that shopping juggernaut that keeps opening doors earlier and earlier. Kohl's and JC Penney's open at 4 AM tomorrow and one place opens at midnight. Plus, Meijer's and K Mart were open today.

It is more than the two NFL games and college basketball invitationals.

It's history can be traced even before the traditional 1621 date. Two years earlier, 38 settlers at Berkeley Plantation, about 20 miles upriver from Jamestown, gave thanks for their safe arrival in the New World. However, this was a religious celebration, not a secular one.

Some other Thanksgiving facts.

1. The presidential turkey pardon is believed to have begun with Abraham Lincoln at the bequest of his son Tad. Others have it beginning with Harry Truman in 1947. Of late, the pardoned birds have found their way to Disneyland, and they didn't even have to win a super bowl.

2. It was held twice in 1815, probably also to celebrate the end of the War of 1812.

3. The Pilgrims' Thanksgiving lasted for three days. It was never written down as to exactly what they ate. Wild turkey was a possibility and the Indians brought five deer. There definitely would not have been mashed potatoes, cranberries, or pumpkin pie. Plus, since there were no forks, they either ate with spoons or their hands. What would Mom say?

4. Thanksgiving as we celebrate it, did not originate with any one event. It is a combination of the traditional New England Puritan Thanksgiving which was religious in nature. It also came from the harvest celebration of England and New England.

5. The Pilgrims never repeated it. It was just the one time.

6. There had been six days of Thanksgiving proclaimed by the Federal government before Abraham Lincoln. The first was by George Washington in 1789. Going back farther, the Continental Congress called for one in 1777.

Lincoln proclaimed it to be the last Thursday of November on October 3, 1863, right in the midst of the Civil War. Before that time, its observance was left up to the states and celebrated at many different times.

7. In 1939, FDR pushed it up a week to provide for a longer Christmas shopping season for hard-pressed merchants suffering from the Great Depression. This caused major problems as school calendars were already set. In 1942, Congress declared it to be the fourth Thursday from then on.

8. Minnesota led the US in turkey production with 46 million.

9. In 2005, the average American consumed 13.1 pounds of turkey annually.

10. Three US towns are named Turkey with the largest being in Texas at 489 people.

11. I wonder how many accidents are going to be caused by deep-fried turkeys this year. That is the best way to eat a turkey.

You can find out more about Thanksgiving at
www.history.com/minisites/thanksgiving

Please Pass the Turkey. --RoadDog