Thanksgiving was first celebrated by the Pilgrims of 1621 and many New Englanders continued to celebrate it after that, but it didn't become a National Holiday until 1863 (October 3rd, 1863 to be exact) under Abraham Lincoln.
The biggest advocate to making "Turkey Day" Official was influential nineteenth century magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale, who was probably more famous for having also written the song, "Mary Had a Little Lamb."
Though if you're like most people, you'll be having a lot of turkey instead. There will be an estimated 242 million of the birds raised this year and the average American eats 13.8 pounds a year.
The top state for turkeys is Minnesota, while mid-western neighbor Wisconsin leads in cranberry production. Michigan is #1 in cherries, while the sweet potato leader is North Carolina...which is also home to the town of "Turkey" North Carolina...Population - 262.
Another Turkey (town) in Texas has 445 residence (population), many of whom will be tuning into football. The Dallas Cowboys along with the Detroit Lions play every year on Thanksgiving...or maybe watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which has featured cartoon balloons since "Felix the Cat" first appeared in 1927 on the streets of New York.
...Also the home of Franklin Roosevelt...The President who briefly tried moving the date of Thanksgiving "Up" one week before Congress moved the holiday for good to where it is now...the forth Thursday of every November.
