THANKSGIVING
On November 26th American’s sit down with family and loved ones for a rich meal of turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. For the foreigners (and maybe even the odd American) who are unsure what Thanksgiving is all about, Amuso is here to fill you up on tasty Thanksgiving and turkey trivia!
Thanksgiving... exposed!
- Thanksgiving has been an annual tradition in the United States since 1863, but was not an official holiday until 1941
- The holiday takes place on the fourth Thursday of November in the U.S.A., but the second Monday of October in Canada.
- The earliest Thanksgiving celebration took place on the 8th of September 1565 in Saint Augustine, Florida by 600 Spanish settlers. The first thanksgiving by English pilgrims took place in 1621.
- The celebration was originally tied to Harvest Festivals. However in North America the holiday takes place to thank the Native Americans (and God of course — they were Pilgrims after all) for helping the early settlers survive Plymouth’s harsh winter.
- The first feast lasted three days and fed 53 pilgrims and 90 Indians. The Native Americans had taught the settlers how to harvest food in the New World.
- The first feast did not include many of today’s traditional thanksgiving treats. Instead they dined on duck, geese, venison, fish, lobster, clams, swan, berries, dried fruit and boiled pumpkin.
- Since 1947 the National Turkey Federation has presented the President of the United States of America with one live and two dressed turkeys at a ceremony known as the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation. The live turkey receives a ‘Presidential Pardon’ and is sent to a farm to live out the rest of its days in peace
- Vegetarians and vegans should not dismay as they can also take part in ‘Turkey Day’ by enjoying a delicious Tofurky, a meat-free turkey replica made of tofu!
- The Friday after Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season and is referred to as ‘Black Friday’ because of the huge increase in shopping traffic and the day’s ability to pull retailers ‘out of the red.’
- The World’s Largest Disco is held every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in Buffalo, New York. The event holds the Guinness World Record for the Largest Disco with a crowd of over 13,000 groovers in 1979.
Turkey Trivia
- The Wild Turkey was first domesticated and bred in Central America and brought to Europe in the 16th century
- A female turkey is called a hen, while a male is called a tom or gobbler.
- President Benjamin Franklin was displeased that the national symbol of the United States was an bald eagle because of it’s ‘bad moral character’ he stated the he would much prefer the turkey to represent his great nation because although turkeys are ‘a little vain and silly, they are a bird of courage.’
- A mature turkey has approximately 3,500 feathers
- 90% of American people eat turkey on Thanksgiving but only 50% serve the bird for Christmas
- Big Bird from Sesame Street is dressed in nearly 4000 white turkey feathers dyed yellow.
- Wattle, snood and caruncle are the bald flaps of skin on the turkey’s head, neck and under the chin. They change colour when the bird is upset or excited.
- Turkey Bowling is a sport often associated with Thanksgiving. It’s standard bowling but is played with a turkey as the ball and soda bottles as the pins.
- There are 12 places in the U.S.A called Turkey
Where ever you are; why not gather up your family and loved ones for a delicious meal and a celebration of things you are thankful for and make Thanksgiving an international occasion!
Merci, Danke, Grazie, Arigato, Tack, Asante, Obrigado, Kiitos, Спасибо, Gracias, Thank you.
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