Every year Thanksgiving is celebrated not only in America but also in other parts of the world. Most of us gather with our loved ones to give thanks for all the blessings we received all year round. Although we know that it is a day of expressing gratitude and eating roast turkeys and pumpkin pies, there is more to its history and other Thanksgiving-related matters we may not know about. Here are 25 things that you may not know about Thanksgiving:

🍂 The first Thanksgiving was celebrated for three days. It was a harvest festival that 90 Wampanoag Indians and 50 Pilgrims attended.

🍂 Thanksgiving is almost a 400-year-old tradition. It was first celebrated in what we now call Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

🍂 Pumpkins, cranberries, venison, goose, duck, fish, oyster, lobster, eel, NOT pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and turkey were served during the first thanksgiving.

🍂 Thanksgiving was proclaimed as a holiday on October 3, 1863, by Abraham Lincoln.

🍂 Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, and North Carolina have towns named "Turkey."

🍂 4500 is the amount of Calories Americans consumed during Thanksgiving

🍂 Yale versus Princeton in 1876 was the first Thanksgiving football game. This holiday was picked for the date of the College Football Championships.

🍂 Thomas Jefferson refused to recognize Thanksgiving since he firmly believed that the state should be separated from the church's affairs.

🍂 In the 1940s, farmers usually gif the president plump of birds for Thanksgiving. John F. Kennedy was the first president to spare a turkey's life. However, the annual white house tradition of pardoning a turkey officially started with George Bush in 1989.

🍂 President Calvin Coolidge received a raccoon as a Thanksgiving gift in 1926. It is meant for the feast, but the family has decided to adopt the said raccoon.

🍂 The first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was called the "Big Christmas Parade" in 1924. The parade included many Central Park Zoo animals.

🍂 The character that appears most in Macy's Thanksgiving parade for years is Snoopy.

🍂 Sarah Josepha Hale, the author of "Mary had a little lamb," is responsible for making Thanksgiving a national holiday after 17 letters to presidents. until President Lincoln approved it.

🍂 The Thanksgiving date every year is set on the fourth Thursday. This was officially declared in November 1941.

🍂 Most Thanksgiving turkeys are raised in Minnesota.

🍂 There are 46 million turkeys prepared by Americans each year.

🍂 229 grams of fat is the typical amount Americans eat every Thanksgiving.

🍂 The teams Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions play on Thanksgiving every year.

🍂 Only male turkeys gobble. Female turkeys make other noises like purring.

🍂 The day after Thanksgiving is such a busy day for plumbers. They warn that potato peels, turkey grease, stuffing, etc., can clog anyone's drain and garbage disposal.

🍂 The same as Thanksgiving day, the National Day of Mourning is observed. This observance is a chance to reflect on Native American heritage as well as educate the American public about the history of Thanksgiving.

🍂 Brits-giving is the unofficial term for the celebration of Thanksgiving by Britons. It is said that one in six Britons are participating in Thanksgiving festivities as of 2014.

🍂 The Butterball Turkey talk line still exists for nearly 40 years. It opened in 1981 and answered people's questions about cooking turkeys. You can give them a call or chat with them online.

🍂 Drinksgiving is the ultimate homecoming celebration. It usually happens on the night before Thanksgiving. It is where adults return home and go to local bars to meet and catch up with family and friends. It has come to be known as one of the booziest days of the year.

🍂 The traditional Thanksgiving food still hasn't changed since 1621. Turkey has been the staple food for the said celebration. Although nobody was sure if the turkey was served during the first Thanksgiving, wildfowl was mentioned in historical accounts. Other traditional foods are apple and pumpkin pies, mashed potatoes, gravy, tools, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce.

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Gift Your Family & Friends This Thanksgiving!