Jerky Hut

Thanksgiving Fun Facts

Let's Talk Turkey!

• Americans feast on 535 million pounds of turkey on Thanksgiving.


• The U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the United States at Thanksgiving. This number represents one sixth of all turkeys sold in the U.S. each year!


• Benjamin Franklin wanted the Turkey to be our national bird.


• Domestic turkeys can not fly, but wild turkeys can fly up to 55 miles per hour over short distances.


• Only male (Tom) turkeys swallow. Women make a rattling noise. The famous swallows is actually a call for mating season.




• The Turkey Trot, a ballroom in the 1900s, has been appointed for the short, jerky steps a turkey. It has become popular mainly because it has been denounced by the Vatican as "suggestive".


• Turkeys are known to spend the night in the trees! (Perhaps to avoid the Thanksgiving table?)


• Turkeys can drown if they look up when it rains!


• A field of vision of Turkey is 270 degrees - one of the main reasons they are able to escape hunters.


• The average person consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day. Now that a lot of turkey!

Thanksgiving is not just an "American" holiday

Giving Thanks Thanksgiving is an important American tradition, but it is not just ours. In fact, six other countries outside the United States have officially declared Thanksgiving Days: Brazil, Canada, Japan, Korea, Switzerland and Argentina. Thanksgiving celebrations have been celebrated for hundreds of years, including in some ancient cultures.

Greeks
The ancient Greeks celebrated a harvest festival called Thesmosphoria each fall. Their goddess of corn and other cereals was Demeter who was honored at the festival.

Romans
The Romans celebrated a feast in honor of their fall harvest goddess of corn, Ceres (which the word cereal comes). The Romans celebrated a feast Thanksgiving when they offered the first fruits of the harvest and pigs to Ceres. Their thanksgiving was held on October 4, each fall.

Chinese
The ancient Chinese celebrated their harvest festival, Chung Ch'ui, under the full moon that fell on the 15th day of the 8th month. They felt that the anniversary date of the moon. Special "moon cakes" were baked and stamped with an image of a rabbit to celebrate their belief that the rabbit is on the side of the moon. The cakes were eaten with a Thanksgiving meal for the Festival three days. It was believed that the flowers fall off the moon during the festival and those who have seen the flowers would soon receive good fortune.

Hebrews
Jewish families also celebrate a harvest festival called Sukkoth. This fall festival has been celebrated for over 3000 years. Sukkot begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Tishri, five days after Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish year. The festival is named for the huts (Succot) that Moses and the Israelites lived in as they wandered in the desert for 40 years before they reach the Promised Land. Sukkot lasts eight days and the Jewish people to build temporary huts with a roof of branches covered with leaves which allows the natural sunlight in. fruits and vegetables, including apples, grapes, corn and pomegranates hang inside the cabin and the first two nights of Sukkot, families eat their meals in the huts of the United Nations.