Mmm! A nice juicy turkey with all the stuffing you can eat oozing with warm cranberry sauce and turkey gravy. Top it all off with an all-you-can-eat hot pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top. Great food is what Thanksgiving for most of us. However, there is actually more to the holiday than just turkeys and pumpkin pie.  This year, you can amaze your family and friends with all the Thanksgiving trivia any lover of the holiday should know.

Kudos to the Plymouth Pilgrims, who, after having a safe journey to Plymouth Rock on the 11th of December 1620, feasted a year later to commemorate the survival of its passengers who rode the Mayflower, the majority of whom were women and children.  This celebration was actually the very first Thanksgiving spread.

William Bradford was the governor who requested Chief Massasoit’s presence from the neighboring Wampanoag and ninety tribesmen to the first Thanksgiving banquet.  Governor Bradford’s invitation was actually his peoples’ way of showing gratitude to Chief Massasoit and his tribe as the latter aided the Pilgrims in surviving by teaching them techniques in farming and developing the land.  The celebration, which emphasized food as well as games, carried on for three straight days.

George Washington was the first President of America to declare the first (and second?) “National Day of Thanksgiving” in the year 1789 and for the second time in 1795.  But it was actually made into an official holiday thanks to Sarah Josepha Hale, magazine editor, who initiated her Thanksgiving campaign throughout 1827.  Thirty six years later, a “Thanksgiving Proclamation” was granted by President Abraham Lincoln, who chose the last Thursday in the month of November.

Before we had a permanent Thanksgiving holiday, a proclamation from the president was given on which day Thanksgiving would be held.  Finally Franklin D. Roosevelt was the last president to change the date to the second to the last Thursday, instead of the last Thursday of November.  It was actually a way to improve the economy, as it lengthened the season for Christmas shopping.

But it was only during 1941, seventy eight years after the “Thanksgiving Proclamation” that Congress finally legally declared Thanksgiving as an official holiday set on the 4th Thursday in November that must be observed by all.

On a lighter note, turkey never became the United States of America’s national bird, thanks to Thomas Jefferson, who opposed Benjamin Franklin’s bright idea. We still do not know if Franklin really mischievously dubbed “tom turkey” as the male turkey just to annoy Jefferson.

The practice of the turkey “wishbone” actually started during Thanksgiving Day as a ritual that brings good luck. Children always seem to get excited over who gets the luck as they break a wishbone in two.

Although the celebration of Thanksgiving today is quite different than the first one, there are still some things that never change. Thanksgiving is really more than just eating all the turkey stuffing or mashed potatoes. A Thanksgiving celebration helps you realize that you actually have something to be thankful for—your family and friends who are with you always, the blessings you have shared with them, and, most importantly, the love all around you. It is a celebration that calls for togetherness, strengthening the bond between you and your loved ones. Of course, for some, Thanksgiving means thanking the Pilgrims from the Mayflower for bringing something they really enjoy to America – beer.