Fun Facts About Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Facts From the First Feast in 1621

The best record of the 1621 harvest celebration is a short letter by the colonist Edward Winslow, printed in London in 1622.

1. It lasted three days Winslow wrote that the colonists entertained and feasted their guests “for three days”. It was a harvest celebration, not a single dinner, and nobody at the time called it “the first Thanksgiving”. ↳ Mourt’s Relation (1622)
2. The guests outnumbered the hosts About 90 Wampanoag men came with their leader Massasoit, according to Winslow. Only about 50 of the Mayflower’s passengers had survived the first winter, so the colonists were the smaller group. ↳ Mourt’s Relation (1622)
3. The Wampanoag brought the main course Winslow wrote that the Wampanoag “went out and killed five deer” and brought them to the governor. Venison, not turkey, is the one meat we know for certain was eaten. ↳ Smithsonian Magazine: what was served in 1621
4. There was probably no pie and no potatoes Historians interviewed by Smithsonian Magazine say pies and potatoes were not on the menu. The colonists had no ovens for baking and little sugar. Wildfowl, which may have included turkey, along with corn and shellfish, are more likely. ↳ Smithsonian Magazine: what was served in 1621

How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday

For more than two centuries, Thanksgiving dates were set state by state. Three people changed that.

5. A magazine editor campaigned for 17 years Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book and the author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, wrote editorials and letters to presidents for 17 years asking for one national Thanksgiving day. ↳ Sarah Josepha Hale
6. Lincoln said yes in the middle of the Civil War In 1863, after a letter from Hale, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November. Presidents repeated the proclamation every year after that. ↳ Sarah Josepha Hale
7. It was one of the first four federal holidays In 1870 Congress created the first federal holidays for workers in the District of Columbia: New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. ↳ Federal holidays in the United States
8. “Franksgiving” split the country In 1939 Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving a week earlier to give stores a longer Christmas shopping season. Some states followed and some refused, so for two years Americans celebrated on different Thursdays. Critics called it “Franksgiving”. In 1941 Congress fixed the holiday on the fourth Thursday of November, where it has stayed. ↳ Franksgiving

Fun Facts About Thanksgiving Traditions

Many traditions that feel ancient are younger than your great-grandparents.

9. The parade started with live zoo animals The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, in 1924, featured animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. Giant balloons replaced them in 1927, starting with Felix the Cat. ↳ Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
10. The Detroit Lions have played on Thanksgiving since 1934 The Lions’ Thanksgiving game began in 1934 and has been played nearly every year since, which is why Detroit always has a home game on the holiday. The Dallas Cowboys joined the tradition in 1966. ↳ NFL on Thanksgiving Day
11. The official turkey pardon dates from 1989 Presidents received turkeys for decades, but George H. W. Bush was the first to formally “pardon” one, in 1989. Every president since has continued the ceremony. ↳ National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation
12. There is a hotline for turkey emergencies Since late 1981 Butterball has run a toll-free Turkey Talk-Line, where experts answer cooks’ questions about thawing, roasting and carving. ↳ Butterball: Turkey Talk-Line
13. The TV dinner story is probably a legend Swanson launched its TV dinners in 1953, and a famous story says a salesman invented them to use up hundreds of tons of leftover Thanksgiving turkey. The story is disputed, including by members of the Swanson family. ↳ TV dinner
14. “Black Friday” began as a police complaint Philadelphia police used “Black Friday” in the 1950s and 1960s for the traffic jams and crowds the day after Thanksgiving. Retailers later recast it as the day stores go “into the black”. ↳ Black Friday (shopping)

Thanksgiving Facts About Food and Nature

15. Benjamin Franklin never proposed the turkey as the national bird In a 1784 letter to his daughter, Franklin called the bald eagle a bird of “bad moral character” and the turkey “a much more respectable bird”. But he never formally proposed the turkey as a national symbol; that part is a myth. ↳ Wild turkey: Franklin and the national bird myth
16. Cranberries are harvested by flooding the field Most cranberries are “wet harvested”: growers flood the bog, loosen the berries from the vines, and the berries float to the surface to be collected. ↳ Cranberry

Thanksgiving in Canada Is Six Weeks Earlier

One more of our fun facts about Thanksgiving: Canada celebrates it too, on the second Monday in October. The date is earlier because the harvest in the north comes earlier. Canada’s celebration has its own history, separate from the Plymouth story (source: Thanksgiving in Canada).

How to Use These Thanksgiving Facts

Read one Thanksgiving fact between courses, turn the list into a quiz for kids, or ask the table to guess which three are myths. Each fact takes 15 to 30 seconds to read aloud. Want a story after dinner? Our sleepover scary stories work for a family evening, and our weird facts Shorts scripts turn facts like these into short videos.

How We Checked These Thanksgiving Facts

Every fact links to the source we checked it against on October 22, 2026: Edward Winslow’s 1621 letter as published in Mourt’s Relation, Smithsonian Magazine, or a Wikipedia article that cites the historical record. Where a popular story is disputed, such as the TV dinner origin or Franklin’s turkey, we say so. If you spot an error, tell us through the contact page.

Fun Facts About Thanksgiving — FAQ