Interesting facts about Thanksgiving Day

November 25, 2009 | In: History facts

Thanksgiving Day, celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, has been an annual tradition in the United States since 1863.Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the second Monday in October in Canada.

The First Thanksgiving was celebrated to give thanks to God for helping the pilgrims survive the brutal winter.

A Thanksgiving Day service is held in Hooglandse (Netherlands) Kerk to commemorate the hospitality the Pilgrims received in Leiden on their way to the New World.

President George Washington issued the first national Thanksgiving Day Proclamation in the year 1789 and again in 1795.

Californians are the largest consumers of turkey in the United States.

Benjamin Franklin wanted the national bird to be a turkey.

President Abraham Lincoln established the original date for our National Thanksgiving Day celebration in 1863.

Though there is no real evidence that turkey was served at the Pilgrim’s first thanksgiving, in a book written by the Pilgrim’s Governor Bradford he does make mention of wild turkeys.

About 91% of families in the United States eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day.