In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims, early settlers of Plymouth Colony, held a three-day feast to celebrate a bountiful harvest, an event many regard as the nation’s first Thanksgiving. It was not until 1863 that Thanksgiving became a national holiday upon Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation that it be so. It was then designated that the nation would take time to give thanks on the last Thursday of November. President Franklin Roosevelt clarified that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month, never on the occasional fifth Thursday. In 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday to be observed on the fourth Thursday of November.

By the numbers
• Minnesota is the top turkey-producing state in the nation for 2009. It is expected that 45.5 million turkeys will come from that state. Also large producers of the popular poultry are North Carolina (37.5 million), Arkansas (28 million), Missouri (21 million) and Virginia (16.4 million).
• The forecast for U.S. cranberry production in 2009 is 709 million pounds. Wisconsin will lead the states with an estimated 400 million pounds with Massachusetts coming in second at 190 million pounds.
• North Carolina produced 874 million pounds of sweet potatoes in 2008. Other large producers were California and Mississippi.
• The total production of pumpkins in the United States for 2008 reached 1.1 billion pounds. Illinois led the country by producing 496 million pounds. California, Pennsylvania and New York each raised at least 100 million pounds of pumpkins last year.
• Estimates for 2009 show North Dakota and Kansas producing 34 percent of the nation’s 2.2 billion bushels of wheat this year.
• The staple, green bean casserole, is made possible by the production of just under 795,000 tons of that vegetable grown right here in the United States. Wisconsin leads all the states with a green bean yield of 320,000 tons.
• The quantity of turkey consumed by a typical American in 2007 (most recent figure available) was 13.8 pounds annually.
• The cost per pound for a frozen whole turkey in December 2008 was $1.33.
• Data gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2008 shows there are 117 million households in America-all potential gathering places for celebrating Thanksgiving.

Tradition
• The first professional football game played on Thanksgiving was in 1920.
• In 1934, the Detroit Lions hosted the Chicago Bears at the University of Detroit Stadium in front of a crowd of 26,000 fans. The NBC Radio Network broadcast the game on 94 stations across the country.
• The Detroit Lions have hosted a Thanksgiving football game every year since 1934, with the exception of 1939-1944 due to World War II.
• The Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers every year from 1950 until 1956 when the Packers outscored the Lions 24-20.
• It was 1956 when fans watched the first televised Thanksgiving Day football game. There are now three NFL games to watch.
• The Dallas Cowboys have only missed playing a Thanksgiving Day game twice (1975 and 1977) since 1966.
• The Atlanta Falcons got their first Thanksgiving Classic appearance in 2005 and came away a winner. The Falcons defeated the Detroit Lions 27-7.

This ‘n That
• Three towns in the United States take their name from the traditional Thanksgiving bird including Turkey, Texas (pop. 465), Turkey Creek, La. (pop. 363), and Turkey, N.C. (pop. 270).
• Snoopy has appeared as a giant character balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade more than any other character.
• About 80 percent of the people who travel on Thanksgiving do so by automobile.
• According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds and measured more than 12 feet long. It was baked in October 2005 in Ohio and included 900 pounds of pumpkin, 62 gallons of evaporated milk, 155 dozen eggs, 300 pounds of sugar, 3.5 pounds of salt, 7 pounds of cinnamon, 2 pounds of pumpkin spice and 250 pounds of crust.
• In the King James Version of the Holy Bible, the word ‘thanksgiving’ is found in 29 separate verses.

Quotes
If the only prayer you said in your whole life was , “Thank you,” that would suffice. — Meister Eckhart

Thanksgiving is when when we give thanks for people who don’t live in our state. — Maya, age 5

You can tell you ate too much for Thanksgiving when you have to let your bathrobe out. — Jay Leno

An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day. — Irv Kupcine

Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action. — W. J. Cameron

There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American. — O. Henry

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. — John F. Kennedy

And now, the blessing...
A family had several guests over for Thanksgiving dinner. At the table, the 6-year-old daughter was asked if she would like to say the blessing. ‘I wouldn’t know what to say, “ she replied. ‘”Just say what you hear Mommy say,” suggested her daddy. The little girl bowed her head and said, “Dear Lord, why did I invite all these people to dinner?”

One last thought...
What if all you had tomorrow was what you remembered to be thankful for today?