I was sent these questions by a foreign co-worker; I thought reproducing them would be a reasonable way to talk about Thanksgiving this year!
On (2007/11/21 10:23), Manush Thranivaniranjanian wrote: > 1. What is the significance of the Thanksgiving Day? > (answer in one or two sentences only)
Thanksgiving is a traditional Autumn harvest celebration first celebrated by colonists of the New World in 1621, and continued in various forms until it became a federal holiday in 1941.
> 2. Why it always falls on a Thursday in November?
Historically, it occurred after the last day of the Autumn harvest of crops (usually late October or early November). Franklin D. Roosevelt set the date for the national celebration in 1939.
> 3. Why Turkey is the main item on a Thanksgiving Day dinner table?
A turkey is much larger than a chicken, duck, or goose, and feeds many more people. It was also supposedly served at the first American Thanksgiving dinner, as recorded by William Bradford in 1643 in a manuscript lost until just before the start of the Civil War. Because of this, President Abraham Lincoln had turkeys sent to soldiers for Thanksgiving during the American Civil War (1861-1865), and the tradition stuck.
Turkeys are also a native American species, and several traditional Thanksgiving dishes like corn on the cob, pumpkin pie, and American cranberries are made from foods which only existed in America prior to the sixteenth century.
> 4. When did the custom of Presidential pardon of the Turkey started?
Nobody knows for sure; it is rumored that Harry Truman started the tradition in 1947, while others maintain it was Abraham Lincoln who started it by issuing the pardon to his son’s pet turkey.
> 5. Which state in the USA has the largest number of Turkeys?
Why on earth would I know that? 🙂
Regards, — Matthew P. Barnson | UNIX System Administrator | – – – – Thought for the moment: There is only one way to console a widow. But remember the risk. — Robert Heinlein