[sotd] Thanksgiving Day: Facts [November 24, 2011]

From: "Site of the Day" <amholm@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: sotd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 09:55:01 -0400
        Site of the Day for Thursday, November 24, 2011

        Cheery Greetings to Those Celebrating the American Thanksgiving

        Thanksgiving Day: Facts

Today's site, from the U.S. Census Bureau, offers a cornucopia of Thanksgiving
facts, some astonishing, many simply comforting. Gentle Subscribers, who may be 
in
need of some noncontroversial conversational fodder later today, might care to
brush up on these handy statistics, just in case.

"In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims, early settlers of Plymouth Colony, held a
three-day feast to celebrate a bountiful harvest, an event many regard as the
nation's first Thanksgiving. ... the event became a national holiday in 1863 
when
President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as a national
day of thanksgiving. Later, President Franklin Roosevelt clarified that
Thanksgiving should always be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month to
encourage earlier holiday shopping, never on the occasional fifth Thursday." - 
from
the website

This sprightly collection of facts delivers the figures on the number of turkeys
raised in the U.S., as well as revealing the top turkey producing state. 
Additional
culinary details include the annual, and possibly alarming consumption, in 
pounds
per person, of such Thanksgiving traditions as sweet potatoes and turkey. Not 
to be
overlooked are the pumpkin stats -- the millions of pounds grown and the overall
dollar value of the harvest. The article wraps up with notes on American place
names related to Thanksgiving and the number of households where this favorite
holiday can be celebrated.

Tiptoe over to the site to scoop up an interesting serving of Thanksgiving facts
at:

http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions
/cb11-ff21.html

If the above URL wraps in your e-mail client, enter it all on one line in your
browser or use this TinyURL:

http://tinyurl.com/bofkswu

  A.M. Holm
  Comments? Suggestions?  <amholm@xxxxxxxxxxx> 
  Manage your subscription and view the List archives on the web at:
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[sotd] Thanksgiving Day: Facts [November 24, 2011]

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