Fun Facts about the First Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

The Pilgrims sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to reach North America.

 They sailed on the ship, which was known by the name of 'Mayflower'. 

 They celebrated the first Thanksgiving Day at Plymouth, Massachusetts. 

 The Wampanoag Indians were the people who taught the Pilgrims how to cultivate the land. 

 The Pilgrim leader, Governor William Bradford, had organized the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621. He invited the neighboring Wampanoag Indians to the feast.  The first Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days. 

 Mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies, popcorn, milk, corn on the cob, and cranberries were not foods present on the first Thanksgiving's feast table.

 Lobster, rabbit, chicken, fish, squashes, beans, chestnuts, hickory nuts, onions, leeks, dried fruits, maple syrup and honey, radishes, cabbage, carrots, eggs, and goat cheese are thought to have made up the first Thanksgiving feast.

 The pilgrims didn't use forks; they ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers.

 Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird of the United States.

 Sarah Josepha Hale, an American magazine editor, persuaded Abraham Lincoln to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday. She is also the author of the popular nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb".

 Abraham Lincoln issued a 'Thanksgiving Proclamation' on third October 1863 and officially set aside the last Thursday of November as the national day for Thanksgiving.

  In 1939, President Roosevelt proclaimed that Thanksgiving would take place on November 23rd, not November 30th, as a way to spur economic growth and extend the Christmas shopping season.