3 Things: Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving weekend! I hope you all are still enjoying wonderful leftovers and have avoided the temptation of the 37000 Black Friday emails. This week is a mini-version with 3 of my favorite facts or stories about Thanksgiving:
Why is Thanksgiving the last Thursday of November?
When did the President start pardoning a turkey?
What does Turkey the country have to do with turkey the bird?
We eat over 700 million pounds of Turkey each year on Thanksgiving. That’s nearly 2 lbs PER PERSON and the result of roasting 44 million birds! It is one of my favorite holidays and one that is steeped in ritual and tradition for many families. Here are some fun facts that you can share at your next Thanksgiving festivities!
1. Why the last Thursday of November?
The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, but didn’t resemble the modern holiday too much. When George Washington became the first President of the United States, he declared a national day of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday in November in 1789 to commemorate the Revolutionary War and the signing of the constitution. It didn’t become a national holiday until 1863 after many decades of lobbying by Sarah Josepha Hale, a prominent writer and editor, and author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” She was a passionate activist and believed that a tradition such as Thanksgiving could ease the growing tensions and divisions between the north and south. She lobbied state and federal officials starting in the late 1820s to pass legislation creating an annual national day of thanks on the last Thursday of November. Finally, under President Lincoln, Thanksgiving became an official US holiday that is now celebrated on the last Thursday in November!
2. Why Pardon a Turkey?
Harry Truman was the first US President to receive a turkey as a gift from the Poultry and Egg National Board and the National Turkey Federation in 1947. It was thought to be meant as somewhat of a bribe by the poultry industry after egg growers sent crates of live chickens to the White House labeled "Hens for Harry," an act of protest against the president's short-lived encouragement of "poultry-less Thursdays." It’s somewhat controversial but it’s believed that President John F. Kennedy was the first American president to spare a turkey’s life. He joked that “It’s our Thanksgiving present to him.” The annual White House tradition of “pardoning” a turkey officially started with George H.W. Bush in 1989. It was more of a joke as the President said, "this fine tom turkey will not end up on anyone's dinner table, not this guy—he's granted a presidential pardon as of right now." The rest, is history.
3. Turkey - the Bird and the Country
During the reign of the Ottoman Empire, traders brought guinea fowl (birds that closely resemble turkeys) from North Africa, where they are indigenous, to Europe where wealthy people liked to eat them. The traders who brought these birds were Turkish, so the Europeans started referring to the animals as turkey-hens or turkey-cocks. When the first Europeans settled the Americas, they began sending what we now call turkeys back to Europe. Since they looked almost the same as the guinea fowls of Africa, people got confused and referred to them by the same name! Thus, we have turkeys!
That’s all for today! We will be back to regularly scheduled programming next week :) If you have thoughts, comments, or want to get in touch, find me on Twitter at @ezelby and if you enjoyed this, please subscribe and share with a friend or two!
~ Elaine
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