The first Thanksgiving, held in 1621, lasted three days and was attended by Pilgrims and Wampanoag. It also featured a mix of shooting contests and games.
While the first Thanksgiving likely featured venison, fish, and shellfish, turkeys became popular later because they were readily available, large enough to feed a crowd, and didn’t have other agricultural uses (like cows for milk or chickens for eggs). Turkeys were also easier to raise and harvest in the fall.
Veterans Day is celebrated worldwide. Other countries honor November 11 as Remembrance Day or Armistice Day — Canada, Australia, and the U.K.
The chaotic Black Friday shopping tradition started because department stores lobbied for Thanksgiving to be celebrated earlier to extend the shopping season. Franklin D. Roosevelt officially moved the date in 1939.
Thanksgiving is the reason TV dinners exist. In 1953, Swanson had 260 tons of leftover turkey. Their solution? Package it with sides and sell it in a box.
Native Americans used cranberries for medicine, dye, and food. While it’s unlikely they were served at the first Thanksgiving, they became a staple because they paired well with game meat and were easily preserved for long winters.
While the tradition of sparing a turkey goes back to the 1800s, it became an official annual presidential event in 1989 under George H.W. Bush.
Before giant balloons took over, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade featured live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo, including elephants and camels.
Originally written in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont, “Jingle Bells” was meant for a Thanksgiving program at his church. The Christmas connection came later.
The tradition of pulling the turkey’s wishbone comes from the Romans, who believed the bones of birds held magical powers.
Veterans Day was first known as Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I on November 11, 1918, at the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month.
Thanksgiving wasn’t anational holiday until 1863. Abraham Lincoln declared it a national holiday during the Civil War, hoping it would help unite a divided nation.
Football on Thanksgiving has been a tradition since 1876. The first Thanksgiving Day football game was played between Yale and Princeton long before the NFL made it an annual event.