Gobble, gobble! November is coming up, and so it's time to feast yourself on these fantastic Thanksgiving facts! We may not celebrate it in the UK, but you can impress your American friends with your outstanding knowledge! Learn all about the history of the holiday, what America's favourite Thanksgiving foods are, what to do if your turkey is burnt, and why ready meals were invented! And don't leave when you're done - we've got so much more fun in store for you! Learn all about the history of Halloween, or get in touch with your inner America enthusiast and try our quizzes on US politics and the Dallas Cowboys!

1. It's American!

You won't see Thanksgiving decorations in the shops in the UK, nor will you get the day off school - because it's an American holiday! It's a very big deal over there as well, where families come together to eat and celebrate.

2. It's an old tradition

The very first Thanksgiving is generally agreed to have happened in 1621, though the actual date is unknown! In fact, some historians think it might have happened in October instead of November. The Pilgrims (early American settlers) arrived in America in 1620, and Thanksgiving was meant to celebrate their thankfulness for their new land.

3. It's not always on the same day

Thanksgiving always happens on the fourth Thursday of November, so the holiday moves around each year. In 2023 It's due to take place on the 23rd of November!

4. A few countries have a Thanksgiving

These facts are mostly about the US Thanksgiving, but a few countries celebrate it, or have their own version! Canadian Thanksgiving happens on the second Monday of October, and is called Action de grâce in French (just over a fifth of the Canadian population are French speakers). Thanksgiving is observed in parts of Australia, Brazil, the Netherlands, Rwanda, Liberia and Saint Lucia. Some of these used to be US colonies, or they have a large expat community living in the States.

5. It's time for football!

And by football, we mean American football! Big professional games are held on Thanksgiving Day, hosted by huge teams like the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys. It's the perfect thing to slump in front of after an enormous Thanksgiving supper. Speaking of which...

6. The food is the BEST

Oh boy, who doesn't love a roast dinner! The traditional Thanksgiving spread consists of: a roast turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, roast vegetables, corn bread, casserole and sometimes mac and cheese! It can vary depending on region and dietary requirements - so, a coastal town in New England might have crab cakes and oysters, and a vegetarian might have roast cauliflower or pasta! Dessert includes pumpkin pie or a delicious apple-based pie, cobbler or cake. It's not known whether or not turkey was eaten at the first Thanksgiving, but they probably did eat some sort of bird, along with seafood!

7. A turkey is pardoned every year

Every year the President of the United States pardons a turkey! The ceremony dates back to the 1940s, when a live turkey would be presented to the president as a gift by the National Turkey Federation. The turkey was usually eaten afterwards, but in the 1970s they started sparing the turkey as a goodwill gesture. In the early nineties it became a tradition for the president to give the turkey a formal pardon! The turkeys are usually named after food, and every year there are actually TWO turkeys sent to the White House, in case anything happens to one of them before the ceremony. In 2022 President Joe Biden pardoned both turkeys, who were named Chocolate and Chip!

8. It's a harvest celebration

Unless you're from a farming community, it can be hard to spot the yearly harvest happening. Harvest is when crops are gathered and stored for the winter, and humans have been doing it for about as long as we've been farming! Many cultures celebrate it with festivals, with more than twenty festivals in India alone! Thanksgiving is America's version of the holiday, expressing thankfulness for a bountiful harvest that will keep everyone fed during the winter, and gratefulness for their home land. But Thanksgiving is about more than that...

9. It's about family

A poll conducted in 2022 revealed that 64% of Americans said that to them, the real meaning of Thanksgiving was being with their family. It's traditional for families to gather at Thanksgiving, and it's actually one of the busiest travel periods in the USA - as busy as summer and Christmas!

10. There are parades!

Thanksgiving is famous for its big, extravagant parades! These are shown on TV and are a big part of most family's traditions. The biggest and most famous parade is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. This parade features themed floats, marching bands, Broadway performances and giant balloons of popular characters. The last float in the parade is always Santa Claus, which is a sign that the Christmas season has begun! The character who has appeared in the most parade balloons is Snoopy from the Peanuts comic strip! The oldest parade isn't actually Macy's, though, but the Philadelphia Gimbel Brothers Department Store in 1920.

11. It helped to invent instant dinners

We've all enjoyed a quick ready meal at some point, and Thanksgiving played a part in making them! Ready meals (or TV dinners as they're called in the States) came about in 1953 after a frozen food company called Swanson overestimated how much turkey they could sell. They were left with 260 tons of extra turkey meat, and instead of wasting it, the company fashioned a Thanksgiving-style frozen meal served in a tray, like airplane food. The dish was a smash hit in 1964, and an industry was born!

12. There's an emergency hotline for turkey first-aid

Odds are you've never had to cook a whole turkey all by yourself before, so you may not know it can get complicated! If your turkey is cooked on the outside but still frozen inside, you can call the Turkey Talk-Line! Run by turkey company Butterball, the helpline is for Americans who need a helping hand when their turkey dinner goes sideways!

13. Thanksgiving was delayed once

In 1705, the town of Colchester in the US state of Connecticut postponed its Thanksgiving celebrations for a week because they couldn't make pumpkin pie due to a lack of molasses (a key ingredient in the dish). Pumpkin pie is just THAT important!

14. A president once received an unusual Thanksgiving gift

In 1926, President Calvin Coolidge received a strange gift for Thanksgiving dinner - a live raccoon! It came from a man in Mississippi, where raccoon meat is a delicacy for some people. Coolidge didn't eat the raccoon though - he liked her so much he pardoned her, named her Rebecca, and adopted her as a pet!

15. It's controversial

America has a long and complicated history, and it's important to talk about it. Thanksgiving is considered a National Day of Mourning for the Native American people, who suffered greatly when European settlers colonised their land. Many Native American activists hold protests on the day, and encourage people to look beyond the history that's taught in schools. Before colonial settlers arrived in the Americas, various Native American tribes already celebrated harvest time with feasting and festivities, so the tradition is much older in the USA than the 1600s.