A Little Thanksgiving Trivia

Thanksgiving began as a day to be thankful to God and for the harvest. Today, it’s a day families gather and share a special meal of thanksgiving. Here’s some fun trivia for Thanksgiving 2025:

*In October of 1863 President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday. “Lincoln said it would be a day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” 

*Thanksgiving has been held on the fourth Thursday in November since 1941.

*The White House gets two turkeys for Thanksgiving each year.

*In 1989, President George H. W. Bush was the first to officially pardon a turkey.

*Ben Franklin wanted the turkey to be our national bird because he thought the bald eagle was a bird of bad moral character and the turkey a more respectable bird.

*85% of Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving.

*30% of Americans will travel this Thanksgiving.

*11% of Americans will go out to eat on Thanksgiving or get takeout food from a restaurant.

*Thanksgiving hosts will spend an average of 9.6 hours preparing food for guests.

*5x as many home cooking fires will occur on Thanksgiving as on a typical day.

*The average number of people at American Thanksgiving tables is nine.

*68% of Americans will have turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.

My brother, Jeff, with our mom and dad around 1990. They all loved Thanksgiving! I took this photo and I told them to look hungry!

*66% of Americans prefer their turkey baked.

*The average cost of a 16-pound whole frozen turkey is $17.39.

*100,000 questions are answered by the Butterball Turkey hotline each year. (1-800-288-8372)

*Americans’ favorite Thanksgiving dishes are:  1. Turkey, 2. Mashed potatoes, 3. Stuffing or dressing, 4. Gravy, 5. Rolls.

*The favorite pies to serve on Thanksgiving are: 1. Pumpkin, 2. Pecan 3. Apple

*The average number of calories consumed on Thanksgiving is 2092.

*53%  of Americans will eat Thanksgiving leftovers for 2-3 days.

*The first year NFL football games were played on Thanksgiving was 1920.

*The Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys have played every Thanksgiving since 1966.

*The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was held in 1924 which makes this year’s parade the 99th one.

*The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade route is 2.5 miles long.

*8000 people will participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year.

*45 million people will watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV.

*Over 197 million people are expected to shop over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend.

*In 2024, shoppers spent $6.1 billion dollars online on Thanksgiving Day.

*On Thanksgiving, people are most thankful for: 1. Family and friends, 2. Health 3. Their faith.

I’m thankful for you…all my friends who take the time to read my blog posts. I wish you all a Thanksgiving filled with many blessings of family, good food, and an abundance of love and laughter!

The trivia information is taken from both the Old Farmer’s Almanac and also from WalletHub.