The Thanksgiving Facts

Infographic at
http://www.creditdonkey.com/thanksgiving.html

This is a really cool graphic that I would have loved having as a poster when the kids were little. Here's the info, if you can't see it clearly. (It's clearer at their site; the embedding seems a little small for 50-year old eyes to see!!)

A Little History...

• 102 People Sailed on the Mayflower. 
• The journey took 66 Days
• The first Thanksgiving lasted for 3 days at Plymouth Colony, somewhere between September 21 and November 11, 1621
• In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November to be Thanksgiving.
• 5 deer were eaten at the First Feast
• No Turkeys were eaten; but lobster, seal and mussel was on the menu
• No Pies or cakes at the first Thanksgiving. :( 
• 1924 - First Macy's Day Parade (Snoopy has been there since the first one!)
• 1934 First Pro-Football game on Thanksgiving

And Now...

• 248 million turkeys are raised in the U.S. in 2011; 1 of 5 of these are eaten at Thanksgiving.
• Minnesota alone is expected to produce 46.5 million turkeys this year!
• 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkins were produced in 2010
• 2.4 billion pounds of sweet potatoes were produced in 2010
• 750 million pounds of cranberries are expected to be produced in 2011
• 42.2 million Americans traveled 50 miles or more for Thanksgiving last year

Poor Thanksgiving :(

Don't you kind of feel sad for Thanksgiving? It's a full-fledged holiday, but it's stuck in there between Halloween and Christmas.  A second thought for most people - unless you're hosting the family get together!

But the stores don't care about it at all! People don't spend tons of money on Pilgrim or Native American outfits unlike Halloween. People spend a LOT of money on costumes for their kids - and even their dog! We did!

I saw Christmas decorations already out at Garden Ridge when I was looking for Halloween decor. And last week at Hobby Lobby, when I was gathering items to make wreath for Thanksgiving, I was relegated to two very picked aisles of Fall Holiday items, while the red and green aisles of Christmas were absolutely overpowering.

I keep reading about stores that are going to be open ON Thanksgiving! Those poor workers! I remember in years past, only one store (probably WalMart) would be open for just a few hours in the morning. I knew that, because I always was forgetting some ingredient for the big meal, and I'd have to send Ron or Michael out to grab it quickly. "What? We're out of ground ginger? How can I make the famous sweet potato dish without it?"  Glancing at the clock, we'd make a mad dash to the store. We'd openly chat with the cashiers, thanking them for saving the day for us.

Now, they're probably required to be there just like any other shift!!

Maybe it's a psychological thing. Lots of people have trouble getting along with relatives, and this is just one big old glaring example that you haven't worked out those grudges yet.  Certainly that might be why they all choose to go SHOPPING for said grouchy relatives - instead of actually spending TIME with them on Thanksgiving.

The reality is that once stores got wind that we really were considering shopping for Christmas way early, they were there to appease us.  It wouldn't happen if we didn't go shopping. But we do.

We have an upscale outdoor mall, the Domain,  in Austin. Tonight they lit their chirstmas tea! BEFORE Thanksgiving? Really????

So I am going to dedicate this blog to writing about Thanksgiving for the rest of the week.

Black Friday can wait until....FRIDAY!!! No more encroaching!