Thursday, November 27, 2008

Five Thanksgiving facts

Holed away in my office in Sweden, feeling far away from home - turkey, cranberry sauce and beer - I started to think about turkey.

The list:

1. Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in the middle of the Civil War. The year - 1863.
2. It's unlikely turkey was eaten at the first Thanksgiving in 1621, but supposedly there was lots of venison. It was given to the Pilgrims as a gift from the Wampanoang king.
3. They also didn't eat pumpkin pie at the first Thanksgiving.
4. 78% of business and government workers were given paid holidays in 2007 both on Thanksgiving and the day after.
5. Remember Squanto? Did you ever wonder how he spoke English? Well, he had learned English as a slave in Europe.

Sources: CNN and Wikipedia

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