Thanksgiving is many people’s favorite holiday. There’s tons of food, quality family time, parades and football. However, many people don’t know the whole truth or the true history behind the holiday, so here are six fun facts about Thanksgiving to share with your family this year to take the place of any awkward conversations that you want to avoid:
The Origin of the Holiday
The first Thanksgiving may have happened in 1621, but it was not declared an official holiday in the United States until 1864. Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the day would be celebrated after the win at Gettysburg as a form of celebration for the Union’s success. The idea came from a previous event during George Washington’s presidency, where, in celebration of the American Revolution a “day of public thanksgiving and prayer” was declared. After Lincoln’s proclamation, Thanksgiving was celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday of November, except for two years during FDR’s presidency when he pushed it forward to the third Thursday of November to allow for more shopping time in between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Pardoning a Turkey
Lincoln was also the origin of the presidential pardoning of the turkey. When they needed a turkey for the holiday, Lincoln’s son, Tad, was upset that they would be killing the animal and tried to stop it from being slaughtered, so Lincoln pardoned the bird. It wasn’t until 1989 and the George H. W. Bush presidency that the tradition actually became an annual tradition, though many falsely claim that the tradition was started with President Truman.
Turkey and Tiredness Myth
Many people believe that turkey makes you tired, but actually turkey itself does nothing different than most other foods to contribute to drowsiness. The chemical tryptophan is found in turkey and does convert to melatonin, which is a sleep-inducing hormone, but many foods contain tryptophan; in fact, cheddar cheese contains more tryptophan than turkey does. Basically, any meal where you eat tryptophan and a lot of carbs, which allows tryptophan to enter the brain, will make you drowsy. Other things on Thanksgiving also contribute to drowsiness, particularly alcohol consumption.
Eating pumpkins
Every part of a pumpkin is edible. That includes the seeds, skin, stems, flowers, leaves and fruit, which means next time you make some pumpkin pie for the holiday, make sure you use all of it. Pumpkins are incredibly nutritious, and when they are placed in landfills, they can be very bad for the environment. In fact, the United States Department of Energy is looking to find a way to turn pumpkins into fuel in the near future.
Thanksgiving Dinner Cost
The average price of a Thanksgiving dinner to feed ten people is $50. This price has been steadily rising over the years, being only $30 back in 1990. The most commonly used item in this meal is bread or rolls with 75% of people including it on their Thanksgiving menu, while turkey is only included in 72% of people’s Thanksgiving menu. Other popular Thanksgiving menu items with over 50% of people saying they include it in their dinner include gravy, mashed potatoes, pie, stuffing, cranberry sauce and green beans.
Calories and Fat
Speaking of all that food, the average calorie count for Thanksgiving dinner is 3,000 calories, and that’s just the dinner! People tend to eat another 1,500 calories during holidays in appetizers and desserts. That’s more than twice the average calorie intake for a person in a day. The average Thanksgiving dinner also contains more than 200 grams of fat, which is triple the average fat intake for a person in a day. So maybe think before going for a second helping this year.