First Thanksgiving Facts

Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States.

It is celebrated on the second Monday in October in Canada.

By the fall of 1621 only half of the pilgrims, who had sailed on the Mayflower, survived. The survivors, thankful to be alive, decided to give a thanksgiving feast.

The Plymouth Pilgrims were the first to celebrate Thanksgiving.

The Pilgrims arrived in North America in December 1620.

They sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to reach North America.

Their ship was called the 'Mayflower'.

The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in the fall of 1621.

It was held in the colony of Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Puritans brought beer with them in the Mayflower and it was present at this celebration.

Turkey Facts

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

More than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the U.S. at Thanksgiving, which accounts for one sixth of all turkeys sold in the U.S. each year.

The average cost per pound of turkey is $1.

Age is a determining factor in the taste of your turkey. Old, large males are tastier than young toms (males) as tom meat is stringy. The opposite is true for females: old hens are tougher birds.

A young "roaster" is five to seven months old, while a turkey under sixteen weeks of age is called a "fryer".

Turkeys are the only poultry birds native to the Western Hemisphere.

Domesticated turkeys cannot fly. However, wild turkeys can fly for short distances at speeds up to 55 miles per hour. Wild turkeys can also run up to 25 miles per hour.

Turkeys sometimes spend the night in trees.

Turkeys can have heart attacks. In areas where the U.S. Air Force did testing to break the sound barrier, turkeys were known to drop dead from the shock of passing jets.

The ballroom dance known as the Turkey Trot was named for the short, jerky steps a turkey makes.

More Links to Fun Facts:

* KidZone - Animal Facts:
Turkeys
* Turkey Trivia Quiz
* Thanksgiving Fun Facts - History.com

Images courtesy of theholidayspot.com.