Thanksgiving: 5 facts about the American holiday

From Presidential meddling to 17th century menus - here are the little-known facts about Turkey Day

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Millions of American children are told the story of Thanksgiving every year: how Native Americans and pilgrims came together for a feast to celebrate a successful harvest at Plymouth Rock in modern-day Massachusetts in 1621.

As they grow up, they learn more about the historical background to the festival and the centuries long-mistreatment of Native Americans.

But some may not know some of these surprising facts about Turkey Day:

1. Thanksgiving didn’t become a national holiday till 1863

Although the day had been celebrated in a variety of different ways since the 17th century, it wasn’t until a 74-year-old magazine editor wrote to President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 urging him to make the “day of our annual Thanksgiving” a national holiday.

The proclamation was made in the middle of the American Civil War - codifying the celebration of a key event in the country’s founding story while the country itself risked being torn apart.

George Washington did issue a request to celebrate a day of thanksgiving on 3rd October 1789 - but this was a one-off to celebrate their new freedom from British rule.

2. Turkey wasn’t on the menu for the first Thanksgiving feast

Historians at the Smithsonian museum say it is unlikely that turkey would have been eaten at the first feast.

According to one of the two surviving accounts of the meal, the Native American tribe, the Wampanoag, hunted five deer for the meal.

It is possible that turkeys were eaten by Native Americans at that time - but they would not be the centerpiece of the meal as they are today.

3. Thanksgiving was only possible because the Wampanoag had been severely weakened by disease

When the pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower in 1620, they found the Wampanoag population had been decimated by disease - probably smallpox.

Ten years earlier, settlers had sailed up the East Coast of America and found it well populated - making it harder for them to settle and farm successfully.

When they arrived, the Wampanoag saw them as potential trade partners and allies against a rival tribe - the Narragansett.

4. The first US President to “pardon” a turkey was John F Kennedy in 1963

Although turkeys had been ritually presented to the sitting US President every year since Harry Truman in 1947, Kennedy was the first to let them off the hook.

In what is believed to have been a spontaneous gesture, Kennedy sent the turkey back to its farm just four days before his assassination.

Pardoning only happened sporadically until George H.W. Bush began the annual tradition in 1989.

5. FDR once changed the date of Thanksgiving to boost the economy

As part of Franklin Roosevelt's plan to boost the American economy following the Great Depression, he moved the Thanksgiving Day forward by a week in 1939,1940 and 1941 to increase the Christmas shopping period.

Unfortunately, only half of the US states adopted the change - and Texas decided to celebrate both.

Congress then came up with a compromise, meaning Thanksgiving is on the fourth Thursday of November - which is sometimes the last and sometimes the second-to-last.