Congress approved Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday in 1941. Since then, it has been a time to reflect on all of the things we are grateful for and a time to focus on family. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of every November, as every Savvy Auntie knows.  But what are some things about Thanksgiving you may not know?

1. The first Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days. The Wampanoag tribe, who taught the original settlers (the Pilgrims) how to cultivate the land, gathered with the Pilgrims to give thanks for the year’s harvest.

2. The first Thanksgiving was held in 1621, but wasn’t an annual celebration until 1863, when President Lincoln listened to Mrs. Sarah Joseph Hale’s request for the national holiday.

3. The Pilgrims set sail on the Mayflower and landed at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts in December of 1620. They were attempting to escape religious persecution by the Church of England and went on to become the Puritans.

4. Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the United States national bird.  Thomas Jefferson opposed him.  It is said that “Tom the Turkey,” was Franklin’s way of spiting Jefferson!

5. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade became a tradition in the Roaring 20’s.

6. Thanksgiving used to be celebrated on the last Thursday of every November, but Franklin D. Roosevelt changed that in order to make the holiday shopping season last longer.

7. Ducks were probably the main course of the first Thanksgiving meal. The Native Americans would have brought deer, or venison, with them.

8. Cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes, staples at today’s Thanksgiving table, weren’t even invented until after the first Thanksgiving!

9. There were more Native Americans (90 strong) than Pilgrims (53 survivors) at the first  Thanksgiving.

10. Because the Pilgrims’ sugar supply would have dwindled during their journey, the first Thanksgiving was likely celebrated without any pies, cakes, or other desserts which we so enjoy during the season now.

So as we sit with our nieces, nephews, and other family members for our own Thanksgiving celebrations, let’s be thankful that we can enjoy the day off, the newer delicacies, the desserts, and the ease we have in organizing these delightful dinners together.


Published: November 16, 2011 (by Veronica Spettmann)
Updated and republished: November 15, 2017
Photo: wernerimages