Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the last Thursday of November every year; and this year, it falls on Nov. 26.
The holiday is associated with the preparation of an extravagant meal for the family along with a lot of shopping. It is a day when all family members express their gratitude to each other and help the bond to grow stronger.
Below are some interesting facts and trivia about Thanksgiving Day which many people are not aware of, compiled from Good News Network and iDigital Times:
1. In 1621 at Plymouth Colony, the people celebrated the holiday for three straight days. However, it is celebrated for a single day in the current era.
2. The modern day traditional Thanksgiving meal includes turkey, mashed potatoes, corn and green beans, along with a variety of desserts. However, the original meal involved only corn with barley, and fowl.
3. President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving Day, a federal holiday in 1863.
4. It was made a federal holiday until an editor named Sarah Josepha Hale pushed for it.
5. On this day, the White House needs to pardon two turkeys, as per their tradition.
6. According to National Turkey Federation, only 88 percent of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving, the rest 12 percent do not consume it.
7. The average American consumes around 16 pounds of turkey in a year in the United States alone.
8. Popular belief says that Turkey causes drowsiness on account of containing amino acid tryptophan. It is a myth. People feel drowsy on Thanksgiving Day to over consumption of alcohol.
9. A modern Thanksgiving tradition is not complete without the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This tradition began in 1924. About 3.5 million viewers watch this parade now from their home, and about half of 50,000 take part in various activities involved in the parade.