Thanksgiving Information

Taken by Martha Stewart's Thanksgiving Trivia via website.


Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863.

It was originally celebrated on the last Thursday of November, until 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving from the fourth Thursday in November to the third to allow for more shopping days between the fall holiday and Christmas. Millions of Americans protested and two years later, Roosevelt restored Thanksgiving to its former date.

The three-hour event is held in New York City. More than 44 million people watch the parade on television each year. NBC has been the official broadcaster of the event since 1955.

In 1924, the annual Thanksgiving parade started by Louis Bamberger in Newark, New Jersey, at the Bamberger's store was transferred to New York by Macy's. There were floats, professional bands, and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo.

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast, which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.

The Intercollegiate Football Association was formed in 1876, and a championship game was instituted on Thanksgiving Day.

Original posted
14 November 2008