Fun Thanksgiving Facts

Browsing on the Internet you can find many things. I wanted to research and find some things that people may not know about Thanksgiving. We all learned in school it was about the Pilgrims and Native Americans but what else is not known?

1. It was always said the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock but in real life, the rock is barely big enough for two people to stand on.
2. The Pilgrims did not set off from England; they actually set sail from Holland. They were English that fled to the Netherlands to escape religious persecution. They left Holland for the New World to prevent their kids from being tolerant of the ways of others.
3. There was only one Native American that helped the Pilgrims through the first year, Squanto. He was the last of the tribe Patuxet and knew English because he had been captured by English slavers. His tribe was wiped out by the disease brought by the Pilgrims.
4. Thanksgiving was at first a fast and not a feast to give thanks in form of prayer and not eating food. The Wampanoag Native Americans contributed their traditions when joining the pilgrims. They danced, played games, and feasted!
5. The first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 but it took more than 150 years for the 13 colonies to celebrate it on one day. George Washington loved the holiday while Thomas Jefferson called it “the most ridiculous idea ever.”
6. Benjamin Franklin tried to make the turkey the national bird.
7. Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, started a campaign in 1827 to make Thanksgiving a national day of thanks and prayer. In 1863 it was observed as that.
8. The first ever TV dinner was made in 1953 by Swanson after they had about 260 tons of turkey to get rid of.
9. Franklin Roosevelt tried to make Thanksgiving a week earlier to try and make retail sales jump during the Great Depression. It failed and after two years and a lot of name calling Congress adopted a resolution and made Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday of November.
10. The Detroit Lions always play on Thanksgiving Day. This started in 1934. The only time they didn’t play was when the team went to serve in WWII.

https://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/2012/11/fun-thanksgiving-facts