Thanksgiving By the Numbers
Get these Thanksgiving facts before you're too full of tryptophan to stay awake post-turkey feast.
Turkey Day is here, the time to gather with family and stuff yourselves silly. Our celebration today dates back to the 17th century, when the Pilgrims in Plymouth Colony held what’s regarded as the first Thanksgiving with a three-day feast in 1621. It wouldn’t be a holiday without some commercialization, though. Thanksgiving became a national holiday in 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a day of thanksgiving. But President Franklin Roosevelt changed it to the fourth Thursday—so a pesky fifth Thursday wouldn’t discourage earlier holiday shopping. As you sit down to eat today, take note of these Thanksgiving facts and figures, courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau. Places in the U.S. named for …
