THANKSGIVING Fun (and not-so-fun) Facts
Here we are – gearing up for another holiday. Seems to me that it is no wonder people gain weight in the fall and winter. We’ve just finished off the Halloween candy.
Now we are preparing for Thanksgiving – turkey with all the high carb and high fat content that tastes so good! According to the Calorie Control Council, a
typical Thanksgiving meal has about 4500
calories!
typical Thanksgiving meal has about 4500
calories!
Yep! Two to three days’ worth of calories in one meal. That Campbell’s recipe for green bean casserole accounts for only 150 calories of the total. This is a not-so-fun fact I almost wish I didn’t know.
And with Christmas holidays only one month away, the calorie count continues upward. [I love holiday cookies!!] BUT it’s all okay: walking 45 miles will get rid of the 4500 calories. Un-huh!!!
And with Christmas holidays only one month away, the calorie count continues upward. [I love holiday cookies!!] BUT it’s all okay: walking 45 miles will get rid of the 4500 calories. Un-huh!!!
If one does not like to cook and is alone with a super big screen TV for all the football games, a Swanson turkey TV dinner may still suffice. First put on the market in 1954, the tray had turkey, stuffing, peas, and sweet potatoes.
Swanson came up with the idea when the company found they could purchase surplus frozen turkeys at a good price. The retail cost was 98 cents.
Swanson came up with the idea when the company found they could purchase surplus frozen turkeys at a good price. The retail cost was 98 cents.
Fun fact: Since 1934, the Detroit Lions always play on Thanksgiving. This year the game against the Vikings starts at 12:30.
Another fun fact - one that surprised me: Thanksgiving eve is the biggest bar night sales of the year. Yes, more than New Year’s Eve.
Pundits think perhaps it is because there is no high priced New Year’s Eve cover charge and that many college aged folks want to meet up with their old friends when they come home for the holiday.
Just a fact: The first Macy’s Day Parade (originally called the Thanksgiving Parade) was in 1924. Along with a few floats and balloons, live animals from the Central Park Zoo were the featured. The estimated crowd was 250,000.
Fun fact: There are about 250 million turkeys raised annually in the U.S. (For comparison the U.S. population is approximately 325 million.)
Not-so-fun fact: Thanksgiving was planned as a fast, not a feast. The early settlers gave thanks by praying and abstaining from food. That is, until the Wampanoag Indians joined them for a three-day feast. History says there were 50 male Pilgrims, 90 Indians, and, perhaps, five women at the 1621 meal. The feast included NO turkey – no mashed potatoes, no corn. The menu included venison, duck, geese, oysters, and eel. Pumpkins and cranberries – but not sweetened and not in pie! Also remember that the fork did not become popular in the mid-1700s, so fingers, knives, and a few spoons were the utensils.
Fun historical facts:
· Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird, not the eagle
· George Washington issued the first national Thanksgiving Day proclamation in 1789.
· Abraham Lincoln issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863 setting the last
Thursday in November as the national day.
· Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving a week earlier to make the Christmas shopping season longer and stimulate the poor economy of 1939.
· Congress passed an official proclamation in 1941 declaring that Thanksgiving would always be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.
· The President, each year since 1947, has pardoned a turkey and spares its life. One of the recent turkeys was flown to Disneyland and was grand marshal of the park’s Thanksgiving parade.
And now some fun cartoons for Thanksgiving!
Pundits think perhaps it is because there is no high priced New Year’s Eve cover charge and that many college aged folks want to meet up with their old friends when they come home for the holiday. 
Fun fact: There are about 250 million turkeys raised annually in the U.S. (For comparison the U.S. population is approximately 325 million.)
Not-so-fun fact: Thanksgiving was planned as a fast, not a feast. The early settlers gave thanks by praying and abstaining from food. That is, until the Wampanoag Indians joined them for a three-day feast. History says there were 50 male Pilgrims, 90 Indians, and, perhaps, five women at the 1621 meal. The feast included NO turkey – no mashed potatoes, no corn. The menu included venison, duck, geese, oysters, and eel. Pumpkins and cranberries – but not sweetened and not in pie! Also remember that the fork did not become popular in the mid-1700s, so fingers, knives, and a few spoons were the utensils.
Fun historical facts:
· Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird, not the eagle
· George Washington issued the first national Thanksgiving Day proclamation in 1789.
· Abraham Lincoln issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863 setting the last
Thursday in November as the national day.
· Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving a week earlier to make the Christmas shopping season longer and stimulate the poor economy of 1939.
· Congress passed an official proclamation in 1941 declaring that Thanksgiving would always be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.
· The President, each year since 1947, has pardoned a turkey and spares its life. One of the recent turkeys was flown to Disneyland and was grand marshal of the park’s Thanksgiving parade.
And now some fun cartoons for Thanksgiving!
No comments:
Post a Comment