US Holiday History
Not always a standardized day, this leader of the forces in the American Revolutionary War, proclaimed a Thanksgiving in December 1777 as a victory celebration honoring the defeat of the British at Saratoga.
George Washington
John Madden, NFL Thanksgiving Day commentator from 1981 to 2001, has been a strong promoter of this dish, consisting of a de-boned turkey, duck and chicken nested inside each other and then cooked.
Turducken
Labor Thanksgiving Day 勤労感謝の日 takes place annually on November 23. The law establishing the holiday was adopted during the American occupation of this country after World War II
Japan
The Pilgrims were the English settlers who came to North America on this ship
The Mayflower
This iconic event is held every Thanksgiving day from 9am-12pm in Manhattan, and first aired on NBC in 1953.
This president was the first to, jokingly, publicly pardon a turkey and send it off to a local petting zoo
Ronald Regan
Surveys have concluded that the average American consumes between 2 and 4 thousand of these during the course of a thanksgiving meal
Calories
The Harvest Thanksgiving Festival, Erntedankfest, is a popular Christian festival on the first Sunday of October in this contry
Germany
Commonly pointed to as "the first Thanksgiving", the 1621 Plymouth feast was held for this reason
A good / plentiful first harvest with enough food to survive the winter
Perhaps compelled by brotherly love, residents of this city first held their first official Thanksgiving Parade in 1920, before anyone else in America.
Philadelphia
After 36 years of campaigning by Sarah Hale (writer of Mary Had a Little Lamb) and others, this president finally agreed, and made Thanksgiving an official American holiday in 1863
Abraham Lincoln
A popular staple, Green bean casserole was invented by an employee of this Soup Company in 1955
Campbell's
The Harvest Festival of Thanksgiving does not have an official date in this country; however, it is traditionally held on or near the Sunday of the harvest moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox
Great Britain
Relations with First Nations peoples were poor following a visit several years earlier by Thomas Hunt, who kidnapped 20 people and he attempted to sell them as slaves in Europe. One of the 20 Patuxet abductees was this famous Native American ally of the pilgrims.
Squanto
In 1993, strong winds brought down this parade balloon in New York, leaving onlookers on the ground saying they "gotta go fast", as it injured a small child and a police officer.
Sonic the Hedgehog
This founding father and 1st secretary of the US treasury proclaimed that "No citizen of the United States should refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day"
Alexander Hamilton
In pamphlets published between 1920 and 1933, members of this movement in the US proclaimed the only acceptable Thanksgiving drinks to be milk, water, and lemonade
Temperance movement / prohibitionists
Thanksgiving (l'Action de grâce), is an annual holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season in this country. Although the original act of Parliament referenced God and the holiday is celebrated in churches, the holiday is mostly celebrated in a secular manner.
Canada
The pilgrims were called by the less flattering names of "radicals and separatists" by this institution
Church of England
This popular movie opens with the Macy's Day Parade, as do all of its many remakes
Miracle on 34th Street
This NFL team has hosted a Thanksgiving day game every year since 1945, longer than any other team
Detroit Lions
Historically, Americans from the southern part of the US have made their stuffing with this, rather than wheat, rye, or sourdough
cornmeal (cornbread also accepted)
Even though it bears the same name, Thanksgiving in this Carribean Nation is unrelated to the common celebrations. Instead, the holiday marks the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of the island in 1983, in response to the deposition and execution of the socialist Prime Minister Maurice Bishop
Grenada
The Pilgrim's first tried fleeing to this country from England, establishing a congregation. They later made the decision to come to America, citing a lack of jobs, difficulty converting new members, and corruption of their youth
Netherlands (Holland also acceptable)
The original Macy's parade ended at this NY square, but the route was changed for marketing reasons to end at Macy's flagship store. Since 2012, it has made a comeback, and all routes again end here
Herald Square