Fun facts for Thanksgiving

Hopefully you have rounded up your vintage Turkey platters and started planning your family feast for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Sometimes I feel like this holiday is steamrolled by Christmas. Very few homes have the traditional Thanksgiving feast that was displayed in the Norman Rockwell painting of the grandparents, parents and children all gathered around the big table heaped with food. Nowadays it seems that with all the divorces and scattered families, it becomes a challenge to get much family together at all.

I do think that some of the stores that decided to open on Thanksgiving Day last year are experiencing a backlash this year against that and some have decided to stay closed so people can attempt to spend time with family. If you find yourself not able to be with your family this year, you can always serve others that have to work that day such as police, fire, EMT and hospitals and nursing home staff by taking some goodies by for them or helping serve dinner at a shelter.

Here are some interesting facts I found on the History Channel’s website that you may enjoy:

The first Thanksgiving feast was celebrated over three days and attended by 90 Wampanoag Native Americans and 50 colonists from the Plymouth colony. The tribe contributed fresh venison and the colonists provided lobster, shellfish, duck, swan and geese. That’s right, no turkey, no pumpkin pie and no potatoes!

The Macy’s Thanksgiving parade was started in 1924 by Macy’s employees and featured all kinds of animals such as donkeys, goats and farm animals, as well as lions, tigers and bears, Oh My! Those critters were replaced by the first character helium balloons in 1927, although I am not sure if the animals or large balloons were harder to handle!

Nearly 88 percent of Americans will eat turkey for Thanksgiving this year for a total of nearly 46 million turkeys consumed. Of course, this does not include the turkey that is pardoned by the president at the White House each year and gets to retire on a farm somewhere. President George H.W. Bush started that tradition in 1989.

Sarah Josepha Hale, author of the poem “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” lobbied for years to have Thanksgiving made a national holiday. She even published recipes for stuffing and pumpkin pie among others that influenced the traditional meal. Abraham Lincoln granted her wish after the Civil War to help reunite the country.

Franklin Roosevelt moved the celebration up a week in 1939 to help the country during the Great Depression by prolonging the Christmas shopping season, but Congress changed it back in 1941 after many people complained.

Maybe these fun facts will help you win a Trivial Pursuit game with the family on Thanksgiving, but no matter what you do, have a Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Collecting! Don’t forget to use those vintage dishes and decorations!

Jillinda Falen has been buying and selling antiques for more than 31 years and is a licensed realtor and estate liquidation specialist. You can contact her through the Houston Home Journal or via email at jcfalen@gmail.com.

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