Fun Fact 2: When is Thanksgiving Day? In the United States thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. In Canada thanksgiving is celebrated the second Monday of October
Fun Fact 3: Thanksgiving is the time of year when all members of the family come together to eat and celebrate. Stores sell more food and provisions at this time than any other time of the year
Fun Fact 4: Thanksgiving officially became a national tradition in 1863, when during the civil war President Abraham Lincoln declared the 4th Thursday in November as a national holiday
Fun Fact 5: Since 1947, The National Turkey Federation (NTF) of America has presented the President with a live turkey and two dressed turkeys in celebration of Thanksgiving each year
Fun Fact 6: The National Turkey Federation estimate that in the U.S. over 46 million turkeys are eaten during Thanksgiving, that's more than double the amount eaten during Christmas time
Fun Fact 7: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade first took place in New York City in 1924. It was launched by Macy's employees and featured animals from the Central Park Zoo. More than 3 million people attend the annual parade and another estimated 45 million watch it on television
Fun Fact 8: Giant helium-filled balloons are a prominent part of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Felix the Cat was the first character balloon to be displayed during the parade of 1927
Fun Fact 9: The American Automobile Association (AAA) estimated that more than 42 million Americans travel 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday each year
Fun Fact 10: American Football is one of the traditions that have closely associated with Thanksgiving. From amateur to NFL, most teams will play a game over the Thanksgiving weekend. Many high schools have nicknamed this game the Turkey Day or the Turkey Bowl Game
Fun Fact 11: Many people use Thanksgiving as an opportunity to help those less fortunate than themselves. Shelters and organisations receive donations of food and volunteer time, especially during this time
Fun Fact 12: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, Mouse on The Mayflower, Pocahontas, Pieces of April, The New World, The little Orphan, Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Hannah and Her Sisters all movies with Thanksgiving connections
Fun Fact 13: The day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday; marking the start of the holiday shopping season, this is the bargain shopper's busiest time, with major stores offering the biggest deals of the year
Fun Fact 14: There are various explanations on the origins of the name Black Friday, the two most popular explanations suggest that either the term was given by the police to describe the disruption caused to the roads and sidewalks causing mayhem by the people attending the sales (deaths have been caused the chaos), or that the term originated from retailers, claiming the term was connected more positively with an increase of sales, transferring the recording of business losses noted in red ink into gains showing positively in black.
Fun Fact 15: Cyber Monday is a marketing term that was first used in November 2005; it falls on the Monday following Black Friday and is the day that ecommerce Internet sales companies promote as the "Biggest online shopping day of the year" |