How Many Days Until Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. For most American families, it is the biggest meal of the year and the day when everyone tries to get together regardless of how far they have to travel. About 55 million Americans travel for Thanksgiving, making it the busiest travel period of the year.

The origin story most Americans learn in school involves Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag people sharing a harvest feast in 1621. The real history is more complicated. That gathering did happen, but it was not called "Thanksgiving," and the relationship between the colonists and the Wampanoag deteriorated rapidly in the years that followed.

🦃 Thanksgiving Food and Traditions

🦃 Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving?

About 46 million turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving Day. Turkey became the traditional centerpiece partly because it was large enough to feed a gathering and partly because it was native to North America. Benjamin Franklin famously argued that the turkey should be the national bird instead of the bald eagle, calling the eagle "a bird of bad moral character."

🍽️ How Many Calories Is a Thanksgiving Meal?

The average Thanksgiving meal contains about 3,000 to 4,500 calories. Side dishes vary by region. In the South, you are likely to see sweet potato casserole with marshmallows. In the Northeast, cranberry sauce (canned or homemade is a surprsingly heated debate). In the Midwest, green bean casserole is non-negotiable. And stuffing versus dressing is not just a vocabulary difference: stuffing goes inside the bird, dressing is baked separately.

🎈 The Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade

🎈 When Did the Parade Start?

The Macys parade has been a Thanksgiving tradition since 1924. It draws about 3.5 million spectators along the route and another 27 million television viewers. The giant character balloons were introduced in 1927, replacing live animals from the Central Park Zoo which had scared children in earlier parades. Each balloon requires 80 to 90 handlers and contains up to 12,000 cubic feet of helium.

📅 How Did Thanksgiving Get Its Date?

Thanksgiving bounced around the calendar for centuries. George Washington proclaimed a day of thanks in 1789, but it wasnt annual. Abraham Lincoln made it official in 1863 during the Civil War. Franklin Roosevelt moved it up a week in 1939 to extend the Christmas shopping season (this was so controversial it was called "Franksgiving"). Congress settled on the fourth Thursday in 1941.

🦃 Turkeys Can Actually Fly

Domestic turkeys bred for Thanksgiving dinner cannot fly because theyve been bred to be so heavy (up to 40 pounds). But wild turkeys can fly at speeds up to 55 mph in short bursts and roost in trees at night. Benjamin Franklin, who wanted the turkey as the national bird, was talking about the wild turkey, not the domesticated version. Wild turkeys are fast, alert and surprisingly intelligent.