When it comes to
Thanksgiving, food and football go hand in hand. While some of us spend the majority
of our time stressing on Thanksgiving recipes, like the stuffing and all, it’s
actually important to realize that Thanksgiving is much more than that. Today
there is not a singular way in which we celebrate the holiday, as every family
has a unique tradition and gameplay.

Source: Decider

While we’re at it, we
must disclose some genuinely interesting topics to you as a conversation
starter for the dinner table. They’re completely noncontroversial and
historically enriching. Yes, they do have a history! Isn’t it itself a fun fact! So try to avoid petty political debates, as it only
results in repressed trauma. Also, if you’re hosting the gathering this year,
it could be an ideal way to entertain your guests and impress them with thanksgiving facts for kids, weird thanksgiving facts, thanksgiving facts and history, thanksgiving history as well as thanksgiving food facts!

1.     
Initially
Thanksgiving used to be a three-day affair.

Cultures have evolved
over the years and, because of that, Thanksgiving – which used to be a
three-day affair – is now only a one-day celebration. You may feel that it
stretches forward to the second day as well because of Black Friday, but that’s
about it. Historically speaking, though, the celebration used to last for three
consecutive days as Governor William Bradford enjoyed the company of his NativeAmerican allies who came baring fruits of their labor in all of his gatherings.

2.     
Thomas
Jefferson wasn’t a fan of Thanksgiving.

Every year presidents
would declare Thanksgiving a holiday until Lincoln came and turned it into a
national holiday in his term. Jefferson, on the other hand, didn’t seem
interested in spreading joy and happiness around. Maybe that’s the reason why
he never recognized Thanksgiving as a holiday.

He even stressed on
separating church and state – but that’s a conversation for another day. He
firmly believed that Thanksgiving was a day where you reflect on your past and
present and make prayers for the future, hence there was no need to designate
it as a national holiday. According to him, that would also violate the First
Amendment.

3.     
Thank
the woman behind “Mary Had a Little Lamb” as she is also accountable
for Thanksgiving’s recognition as a national holiday.

Yes, it’s true that the
writer and editor Sarah Josepha Hale was responsible for convincing President
Abraham Lincoln for the official declaration of Thanksgiving as a national
holiday. She was also responsible for founding the American Ladies Magazine, an
issue that discussed and promoted the suffrage of women. She is lovingly
remembered as the Mother of Thanksgiving.

4.     
The Macy’s First Thanksgiving Day Parade didn’t have balloons.

Can you imagine Macy’sThanksgiving Day Parade without the giant balloons floating in the air? We
certainly can’t! Well, you must then be bewildered to see the images of the
first parade in the first few years of the 1920s – it had puppets and singers
and even Santa Claus. However, the balloons made their debut only in the middle
of the 1920s. 

5.      The first TV dinners was inspired by a Thanksgiving mix-up.

A Swanson
employee, in 1953, ordered excess of Thanksgiving turkeys around 260 tons! Hence, to get rid
of the unused meat, salesman Gerry Thomas filled 5,000 aluminum trays with
turkey and added cornbread dressing as well as some tasty gravy, sweet potatoes and peas. This became a hit and gained popularity in regular households.

6.     
Americans
prepare 46 million turkeys for Thanksgiving every year.

You can’t even think of
Thanksgiving without turkey. So obviously, the average consumption of turkey
rounds up to 46 million in America. Nobody really pays attention to it for the
rest of the year.

7.     
But
not everyone eats turkey on Thanksgiving.

Now what we’re going to
tell you is a bit blasphemous: approximately 12% of the American population
doesn’t eat turkey on Thanksgiving. It’s obviously because they’re vegans or
vegetarian.

8.     
Runners
at a Dallas turkey trot have made a world record by dressing up as turkeys.

There are numerous Thanksgiving traditions – come on, every family has one! Well, turkey trots is
one of them and it offers runners a chance to dress up in a fun turkey costume
to celebrate the day in high spirits.

In fact, it gives them
an opportunity to make world records and achieve success! In 2011, runners at
the YMCA Turkey Trot that took place in Dallas, Texas made a Guinness World
Record for the largest gathering of people dressed up as turkeys. There were a
total of 661 people in attendance!

9.     
Thanksgiving leftovers are preferred by most Americans than actual meal.

Do you know that 8 out
of 10 Americans prefer turkey with its stuffing and mashed potatoes leftover
sandwich than the actual dinner?

10.  Only male turkeys actually gobble.

And last but not the
least – and it’s a strange one – only male turkeys make the gobbling sound.
Female turkeys actually cackle, so just check their beaks to find out the
gender of your turkey.

If you’ve passed this
trivia, congratulations, you’re officially a geek. How about if we also tell you 101 facts about thanksgiving!