2.By the fall of 1621 only half of the pilgrims, who had sailed on the Mayflower, survived. The survivors, thankful to be alive, decided to give a thanksgiving feast.

3.Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the second Monday in October in Canada.

4.The Plymouth Pilgrims were the first to celebrate the Thanksgiving.

5.The pilgrims arrived in North America in December 1620.

6.The Pilgrims sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to reach North America.

7.The pilgrims sailed on the ship, which was known by the name of ‘Mayflower’.

8.They celebrated the first Thanksgiving Day in the fall of 1621.

9.They celebrated the first Thanksgiving Day at Plymouth, Massachusetts.

10.The drink that the Puritans brought with them in the Mayflower was the beer.

11.The Wampanoag Indians were the people who taught the Pilgrims how to cultivate the land.

12.The Pilgrim leader, Governor William Bradford, had organized the first Thanksgiving feast in the year 1621 and invited the neighboring Wampanoag Indians also to the feast.

13.The first Thanksgiving feast was held in the presence of around ninety Wampanoag Indians and the Wampanoag chief, Massasoit, was also invited there.

14.The first Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days.

15.President George Washington issued the first national Thanksgiving Day Proclamation in the year 1789 and again in 1795.

16.The state of New York officially made Thanksgiving Day an annual custom in 1817.

17.Sarah Josepha Hale, an editor with a magazine, started a Thanksgiving campaign in 1827 and it was result of her efforts that in 1863 Thanksgiving was observed as a day for national thanksgiving and prayer.

18.Abraham Lincoln issued a ‘Thanksgiving Proclamation’ on third October 1863 and officially set aside the last Thursday of November as the national day for Thanksgiving. Whereas earlier the presidents used to make an annual proclamation to specify the day when Thanksgiving was to be held.

19.President Franklin D. Roosevelt restored Thursday before last of November as Thanksgiving Day in the year 1939. He did so to make the Christmas shopping season longer and hus stimulate the economy of the state.

20.Congress passed an official proclamation in 1941 and declared that now onwards Thanksgiving will be observed as a legal holiday on the fourth Thursday of November every year.

H. W. Westermayer
The pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts… nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.

William Jennings Bryan
On Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our dependence.

Arnold Schwarzenegger
I love Thanksgiving turkey… it’s the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts.

Kevin James
Thanksgiving, man! Not a good day to be my pants.

Erma Bombeck
Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.

Russell Baker
It was dramatic to watch my grandmother decapitate a turkey with an ax the day before Thanksgiving. Nowadays the expense of hiring grandmothers for the ax work would probably qualify all turkeys so honored with gourmet status.

Mike Connolly
Coexistence… what the farmer does with the turkey – until Thanksgiving.

Rita Rudner
My mother is such a lousy cook that Thanksgiving at her house is a time of sorrow.

Jon Stewart
I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.

George Carlin
We’re having something a little different this year for Thanksgiving. Instead of a turkey, we’re having a swan. You get more stuffing.

Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary
Turkey: A large bird whose flesh, when eaten on certain religious anniversaries has the peculiar property of attesting piety and gratitude.

Erma Bombeck, No One Diets on Thanksgiving
What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?

Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.
It must be an odd feeling to be thankful to nobody in particular.

Christians in public institutions often see this odd thing happening on Thanksgiving Day. Everyone in the institution seems to be thankful ‘in general.’ It’s very strange. It’s a little like being married in general.

Russell Baker
It was dramatic to watch my grandmother decapitate a turkey with an ax the day before Thanksgiving. Nowadays the expense of hiring grandmothers for the ax work would probably qualify all turkeys so honored with ‘gourmet’ status.

Jon Stewart
I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.

Johnny Carson
Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often.

Anonymous
May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs

10. Hundreds of volunteers have started to stack sandbags around you.

9. Doctor tells you your weight would be perfect for a man 17 feet tall.

8. You are responsible for a slight but measurable shift in the earth’s axis.

7. Right this minute you’re laughing up pie on the carpet.

6. You decide to take a little nap and wake up in mid-July.

5. World’s fattest man sends you a telegram, warning you to “back off!”

4. CBS tells you to lose weight or else.

3. Getting off your couch requires help from the fire department.

2. Every escalator you step on immediately grinds to a halt.

1. You’re sweatin’ gravy.

A Thankful Thanksgiving
The America we witness today has seen much sacrifice
This sacrifice for many, has meant a total giving of life for liberty
Do all truly realize what the human cost of freedom is
All citizens should understand what has kept us whole

Should it not be the duty of each American to know this
To become familiar with the reasons of why we exist today
The notion that “that’s the way things are” is ludicrous
When a firm explanation is so easily understood

We’ve survived because of faith, determination, and great sacrifice
The backbone of this country is the strength of its good citizens
Each true American is worth more than all the gold found in history
Selfishness does not rule their home, nor does it drive their thought

And don’t just look at our military as a magnificent force
Rather look at each member of our soldiered family with pride
“Ready, willing, and able” have been the finest of each generation
Whether in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, or any other place of danger

Whenever an American military presence moves into action
Behold the continuation of an outstanding tradition
Formed through freedom, it bravely faces all adversaries
And the flag under which it stands will always fly in freedom

We are and always will be one nation under God
He is the strength we have turned to time and time again
If we did not have Him, we would have perished long ago
God Bless America is more than a song, it is our national prayer

Finally, I wish each fine American a thankful Thanksgiving Day
May you truly realize what we are, and pray to Almighty God for continuation
Be ever thankful for our Armed Forces, and give them the total support they need
And please pray for all American families who have paid the price for freedom

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