“It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler crust of brown sugar and cinnamon.” ~ Sarah Addison Allen
For many, Thanksgiving Day is filled with all the stressors that accompany the holiday season. However, let us remember, this holiday is a time for community, football, wonderment and, you guessed it … TURKEY!
Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Norma Lee.
Norma Lee who?
Norma Lee I don’t eat this much!
Facts …
… Each year Americans eat around 46 million pounds of the aforementioned heavy bodied, terrestrial bird belonging to the order of Galliformes.
… Benjamin Franklin famously favored the fowl over the bald eagle to be the national bird of the United States.
… The Butterball Turkey Hotline is a service where experts respond to more than 100,000 cooking related questions every holiday season.
… The average person consumes 2.7 drinks during Thanksgiving. Wine, beer, and whiskey are the three most imbibed alcoholic beverages on this holiday.
… The first “Turkey Trot” fun run started in Buffalo, New York, in 1896, with just six runners. Today, thousands of cities host these races.
… There are four U.S. towns literally named Turkey. They are located in Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, and North Carolina.
“How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.” ~ John Burroughs
Parade …
… The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was originally called the Macy’s Christmas Parade when it debuted on November 27,1924.
… The Allied Patriotic Societies protested the parade, telling Macy’s that it should not hold the event on Thanksgiving because “it would interfere with the day’s worship,” according to The New York Times.
… The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was broadcast for the first time in 1932. These broadcasts were radio-only, so listeners had to use their imaginations. The first televised parade took place in 1946, and was limited to the New York area.
… The Parade was halted during World War II. There were rubber and helium shortages, so Macy’s canceled the parade from 1942-to-1944. The company deflated its rubber balloons – which weighed 650 pounds in total – and donated them to the government. These days, the balloons are made of polyurethane fabric.
… Before the Macy’s parade, there was the Thanksgiving Ragamuffin Parade, an event where local children dressed up as beggars and asked adults on the street for pennies, candy, and apples. The Macy’s parade was such a success that it quickly drove the now obscure Ragamuffin Parade out of business.
… The first-ever balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was Felix the Cat in 1927.
… The people who design the Macy’s Day Parade balloons are known as “Balloonatics.”
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” ~ Aesop
Football
… The concept of American football games being played on Thanksgiving Day dates back to 1876, shortly after the game had been invented, as it was a day that most people were off.
… Professional football on Thanksgiving dates back to the 1890s, and the National Football League, (NFL), has played games on the holiday since its founding in 1920.
… The Detroit Lions have played a football game on Thanksgiving almost every year since 1934, (except from 1939-to-1944 during World War II). The Dallas Cowboys have hosted a game every year since 1966, (with a few exceptions).
… The Jacksonville Jaguars are the only current NFL team that has never played a game on Thanksgiving.
… Introduced by broadcaster John Madden in 1989, the turkey leg is awarded to the game’s Most Valuable Player, (MVP).
… Based on TV viewing and retail statistics, Americans will actually spend more time watching football over the Thanksgiving Day Holiday then they will spend shopping.
“Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.” ~ George Washington
Did You Know? Swanson created the iconic frozen TV dinner, (known as the 1953 TV Dinner Accident), because they over-ordered 260 tons of leftover Thanksgiving turkey and had to figure out how to package and sell it.