Interesting Facts About Thanksgiving To Impress Your Family

As you gather round the dinner table to share stories, memories and have fun, here are some interesting facts to share that will make you look smart.

1. Origin and History:
   • Thanksgiving traces back to a 1621 feast shared by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Native Americans in Plymouth, Massachusetts, although other early settlements also had similar harvest celebrations.
   • President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, during the Civil War, as a day of "Thanksgiving and Praise."
2. Turkey Tradition:
   • Turkey has been a centerpiece of Thanksgiving meals for centuries. It's estimated that about 46 million turkeys are consumed each Thanksgiving in the United States.
   • Despite the association with Thanksgiving, it's believed that turkey might not have been served at the original feast. Historians suggest that the menu likely included venison, waterfowl, fish, lobster, clams, berries, fruit, pumpkin, and squash.
3. Thanksgiving Parades:
   • The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City started in 1924 and has become an annual tradition, featuring giant balloons, floats, performances, and marching bands.
4. Pardoning of the Turkey:
   • Every year, the President of the United States pardons a turkey, allowing it to live instead of being slaughtered for Thanksgiving dinner. This tradition is believed to have begun with President Harry Truman in the 1940s.
5. Celebrations Worldwide:
   • While Thanksgiving is primarily celebrated in the United States, several countries around the world have similar holidays or harvest festivals, such as Canada's Thanksgiving, which is celebrated on the second Monday in October.

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Fall/Winter Road Trip Time! Cooler temps make it so I don't want to get out of the car much. But I still love a good road trip.

 I get some delicious snacks and plenty of water and head out on the road to anywhere I can safely travel.

We have some gorgeous terrain in Utah and there is never enough time to see it all.

U.S. Route 89 is the longest road in Utah. It is a north-south United States Highway spanning more than 502 miles through the central part of the state. Between Provo and Brigham City, US-89 is sometimes parallel to I-15 and is used as a local frontage road or it joins I-15 for portions of the drive. But from Arizona up north to Provo and from Brigham City northeast to Wyoming it stands as it's own road.

US-89 starts at the bottom of Utah inside the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, just north of the Glen Canyon Dam. It crosses the Colorado River near Page, Arizona.

US-89 stays near the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument and then over to Kanab, US-89 meets up with the north end of US-89A which is an alternate route south into Arizona, and then turns a sharp north and begins climbing the staircase. You can see sights like The Vermilion Cliffs near Kanab, White Cliffs, head to Zion National Park and then on into the Sevier Valley.

You can choose to connect to other state roads and check out Bryce Canyon National Park and drive through beautiful towns like Circleville & Marysvale on up to Manti, Ephraim, Mount Pleasant and Fairview. US-89 travels all though some great canyons, along rivers and shows off some of the most beautiful areas of Utah.

Another thing to check out is near the area of Thistle Creek/ Fairview junction with US-6, there is a ghost town flooded by a landslide in 1983. I definitely want to put that on my list to check out!

What are your favorite places in Utah? Let me know and I will compile a complete list of MUST-STOPS for all your road trips. Send Ideas to aaronee@townsquaremedia.com

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