The Plymouth Thanksgiving occurred sometime between September 21 and November 1. It was simply too cold to have it any later than that.
There are plenty of resources for learning about the history of Thanksgiving (here’s a great collection of videos from WatchKnowLearn, if you’re interested). But to get kids really interested, sometimes you need to dig deeper. Sometimes much deeper. Here is a collection of little known facts and coincidences about Thanksgiving, both the holiday as it stands now and what is considered the First Thanksgiving in 1621.
We’ll start with a doozie:
The first Thanksgiving celebration in America actually occurred in 1541 in the Texas panhandle by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and his expedition.
Many countries have had harvest celebrations similar to Thanksgiving for hundreds of years, including Russia, China, and many African tribes.
Abraham Lincoln established the official federal Thanksgiving holiday in 1863. Until then, previous presidents proclaimed various times of the year as “Thanksgiving”.
Much of the food at the Plymouth Thanksgiving was not what we would consider traditional: lots of shellfish, lobster, venison, and wild boar were served along with the occasional turkey.
The Plymouth Thanksgiving occurred sometime between September 21 and November 1. It was simply too cold to have it any later than that.
In keeping with another American tradition, the southern states refused to observe the federal Thanksgiving holiday until well after Lincoln established it, fearing it was a federal takeover of their rights.
The first Thanksgiving football game was Yale vs. Princeton in 1876.
The Detroit Lions have been hosting a football game on Thanksgiving since 1934. The Dallas Cowboys stole the idea in 1966.
The oldest Thanksgiving Day parade is not Macys’, but rather the IKEA Philadelphia parade, started in 1920.
Since 1975, Native Americans have gathered on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco during Thanksgiving for “Unthanksgiving Day”, where they commemorate the loss of their culture and land.
The US Virgin Islands have two Thanksgivings: the national holiday and “Hurricane Thanksgiving Day” on October 19th to give thanks for the islands being spared from hurricanes that year (if, indeed, one has not hit them).
Native Hawaiians have had a Thanksgiving celebration for hundreds of years before the Plymouth Thanksgiving. Called “Makahiki”, it lasts for four months and people were forbidden to work during that time.
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the biggest day of alcohol sales in the US, outselling New Year’s Eve, St. Patrick’s Day, and the Super Bowl.
Pork, chicken, and cheese all contain more tryptophan than turkey.