This year marks the 150th anniversary of the American holiday of Thanksgiving. President Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, proclaimed the last Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving.
In 1941 President Franklin Roosevelt officially placed the celebration on the fourth Thursday of November to allow a longer holiday shopping season. Now the Friday after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday.
Modern day celebrations last only one day, unlike the three-day festival the Pilgrims celebrated in 1621 with the Wampanoag Indians.
Our modern day feast is devoted to family gatherings centered on a cornucopia of food. There is turkey or ham, pecan and pumpkin pie, potatoes, stuffing, green beans, casseroles, candied yams, cranberries, festive drinks, and much more.
America produces 242 million turkeys for this day. Minnesota, North Carolina, and Arkansas are the three leading states in turkey raising, according to 2012-2013 figures from the Census Bureau.
There are 768 million pounds of cranberries grown. Wisconsin is the leading cranberry producer, growing 420 million pounds of the scarlet fruits.
A staggering 2.6 billion pounds of sweet potatoes are annually grown, and North Carolina grows almost half of those 1.2 billion pounds.
The 150 year old tradition of enjoying the bountiful harvest is now a day of T.V. viewing, including the 87th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with 50 million viewers, and three National Football League games.
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