THANKSGIVING
The first Thanksgiving in North America is believed to have been held in 1619 or 1621
Some experts think the first Thanksgiving dinner was served by the Pilgrims in 1621 at Plymouth, Massachusetts. Others credit the settlers near Virginia's Jamestown with celebrating the first Thanksgiving as their version of England's ancient Harvest Home Festival.
President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, supposedly as a response to a campaign organized by magazine editor Sara Joseph Hale. In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving Day forward one week, as it is presently celebrated.
Since 1947, the National Turkey Federation (NTF) has presented the President of the United States with a live turkey and two dressed turkeys in celebration of Thanksgiving. The annual presentation of the National Thanksgiving Turkey to the President has become a traditional holiday ritual in the nation's capital, signaling the unofficial beginning of the holiday season and providing the President an opportunity to reflect publicly on the meaning of the Thanksgiving season. After the ceremony, the live bird retires to a historical farm to live out the rest of its years.
The top five most popular ways to serve leftover Thanksgiving turkey are: Sandwich, Soup or Stew, Casserole, Stir-fry, and Salad.
It has been estimated that 95% of Americans eat turkey at Thanksgiving.
According to the National Turkey Federation, about 24% of Americans purchase fresh turkeys for Thanksgiving, and 69% purchase frozen turkeys
An estimated 263 million turkeys were raised in the United States in 2004. That's down 4 percent from 2003. In 2003, the turkeys produced weighed 7.5 billion pounds altogether and were valued at $2.7 billion. Minnesota raised 46.5 million turkeys, followed by North Carolina (39 million), Arkansas (28 million), Missouri (21.5 million), Virginia (19 million) and California (16 million). These six states together account for nearly 2 of every 3 turkeys produced in 2004.
US Census Bureau, October 2004
The typical American consumed 14 pounds of turkey in 2002 -- no doubt a good bit of it at Thanksgiving time. Per capita turkey consumption was virtually the same as in 1990 (13.8 pounds), but 70 percent higher than in 1980 (8.1 pounds).
US Census Bureau, October 2004
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