Thanksgiving has become a beloved American holiday where families come together to express their gratitude while feasting on delicious dishes. The origins of this bountiful holiday can be traced back for hundreds of years and with our collection of informative facts about Thanksgiving, you’ll teach your children about the history of this special day while also entertaining them with lesser-known facts about turkeys, Thanksgiving events, and more!
1. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 and it lasted for three days.
Learn More: ED Times
2. Corn is one of the popular symbols of Thanksgiving; it represents the harvest and what the Pilgrims learned to grow.
Learn More: Always the Holidays
3. The Pilgrims celebrated it with the Wampanoag Indians.
Learn More: Smithsonian Magazine
4. The first Thanksgiving didn’t have turkey on the menu; they ate deer or venison.
Learn More: History
5. The first-ever TV dinner in 1953 was created due to a surplus of 260 tons of Thanksgiving turkey.
Learn More: The Society Pages
6. Thanksgiving became a national holiday in 1863, thanks to President Abraham Lincoln.
Learn More: StarNews Online
7. Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” persuaded President Lincoln to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday.
Learn More: The Vintage News
8. Canadians also celebrate Thanksgiving, but in October.
Learn More: Newsweek
9. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade started in 1924.
Learn More: Yahoo Life
10. Native Americans used pumpkins in several ways: they ate the seeds and pulp, dried the shells and wove them into mats.
Learn More: UNL Food
11. The big balloons in the Macy’s Parade use up to 12,000 cubic feet of helium.
Learn More: Popular Science
12. Turkey wasn’t the bird of choice for the first Thanksgiving; it was more likely duck or goose.
Learn More: NPR
13. Ben Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird, not the eagle.
Learn More: Live Science
14. Cranberries are one of only a few fruits native to North America.
Learn More: U of A
15. The Pilgrims didn’t use forks; they ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers.
Learn More: Facebook
16. The Detroit Lions have played on Thanksgiving Day since 1934.
Learn More: Detroit Historical Society
17. “Jingle Bells” was originally a Thanksgiving song.
Learn More: Facebook
18. Over 50 million turkeys are consumed in the U.S. every Thanksgiving.
Learn More: Time
19. The heaviest turkey ever recorded weighed 86 pounds.
Learn More: Penticton Western News
20. Minnesota produces the most turkeys in the U.S.
Learn More: WEAU News
21. Green bean casserole is a popular dish, with over 40 million people enjoying it.
Learn More: NPR
22. The Pilgrims arrived on the ship named the Mayflower.
Learn More: BBC
23. Wild turkeys can run up to 20 miles per hour.
Learn More: Tenor
24. Only male turkeys, called toms, gobble.
Learn More: Fact / Myth
25. Female turkeys, called hens, cackle.
Learn More: Target Crazy
26. President George H.W. Bush started the annual turkey pardon tradition in 1989.
Learn More: The White House Historical Association
27. The Friday after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday because it begins the holiday shopping season.
Learn More: Sensational Color
28. Native Americans used cranberries as medicine and dye.
Learn More: Twitter
29. The cornucopia or “horn of plenty” is a common Thanksgiving symbol, representing a bountiful harvest.
Learn More: Gourmet Gift Baskets
30. Sweet potatoes are often part of Thanksgiving meals and are grown in the South.
Learn More: Integrated Pest Management
31. The first department store to hold a Thanksgiving parade was Gimbel’s in 1920.
Learn More: Hidden City
32. More than 100,000 questions about cooking turkey are answered by the Butterball Turkey hotline each November.
Learn More: Business Insider Africa
33. Fossil evidence shows that turkeys roamed North America 10 million years ago.
Learn More: Earth Archives
34. Pumpkin pie wasn’t at the first Thanksgiving; ovens to bake pies didn’t exist in Plymouth colony.
Learn More: Souffle Bombay
35. Pumpkin pie recipes date back to the early 17th century.
Learn More: The Inn at the Crossroads
36. The wishbone tradition involves two people tugging on the bone, and the one with the larger piece gets a wish.
Learn More: Backyard Poultry
37. Squanto, a Native American, taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn and fish.
Learn More: Science Photo Library
38. It’s estimated that one-third of the U.S. population watches the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Learn More: New York Post
39. The parade ends with Santa Claus to kick off the Christmas season.
Learn More: The US Sun
40. There were 102 passengers on the Mayflower.
Learn More: Genealogy and Local History Blog
41. The Pilgrims didn’t leave England to seek religious freedom.
Learn More: Christianity
42. Potatoes were not at the first Thanksgiving; they hadn’t become popular in North America yet.
Learn More: CNN
43. The average turkey for Thanksgiving weighs 15 pounds.
Learn More: Pinterest
44. A turkey’s snood is the flap of skin that hangs over its beak.
Learn More: Facebook
45. The first Macy’s parade featured Felix the Cat.
Learn More: People
46. Thanksgiving break is the busiest travel time of the year.
Learn More: ABC News
47. In 1941, Congress set the official date for Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November.
Learn More: National Archives
48. Pumpkin is a type of squash.
Learn More: The Spruce Eats
49. Pecan pie is a popular southern dish for Thanksgiving.
Learn More: Grandbaby Cakes
50. “Over the River and Through the Wood” is a Thanksgiving poem turned song.
Learn More: Playtivities
51. The day after Thanksgiving is the largest day for food consumption in the U.S.
Learn More: Statista
52. Every year, the president of the U.S. pardons a turkey, saving it from being eaten.
Learn More: The Washington Post
53. The first Thanksgiving was in Plymouth Colony, now Massachusetts.
Learn More: Study
54. Native American tribes had harvest festivals long before the Pilgrims.
Learn More: Owlcation
55. In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving up a week to boost the economy.
Learn More: Vox
56. The Wampanoag Indians taught the Pilgrims to grow local crops.
Learn More: Modern Farmer
57. The term “Black Friday” originally referred to a financial crisis, not sales.
58. The Pilgrims’ feast in 1621 is the basis for the Thanksgiving holiday, but it wasn’t repeated yearly.
Learn More: Smithsonian Magazine
59. The foods eaten at the first Thanksgiving were much simpler and didn’t include many of our favorite dishes.
Learn More: Family Search
60. More than 750 million pounds of cranberries are produced annually.
Learn More: American Petroleum Institute
61. The Native Americans brought popcorn to the Pilgrims.
Learn More: History Myths Debunked
62. Turkeys have poor night vision.
Learn More: Wide Open Spaces
63. Before being harvested and sold, an individual cranberry must bounce at least 4 inches high.
Learn More: Mashed
64. The Pilgrims’ voyage to the New World lasted 66 days.
Learn More: Mayflower History
65. The Pilgrims didn’t wear buckle hats or black and white clothing.
Learn More: Ripley’s
66. “Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” is a popular Thanksgiving special for kids.
Learn More: Deadline
67. Thanksgiving football games began more than 100 years ago.
Learn More: History
36 Inspiring Quotes From Legendary Children’s Books