Thanksgiving Facts For Kids
First Thanksgiving History For Kids
I love Thanksgiving. I’m so glad you found this page, so you can learn some fun Thanksgiving facts for kids! I’m also going to talk to you today about the first Thanksgiving history for kids. There is a lot of information that I hear going around about the first Thanksgiving that is just dead wrong. I’m glad I have an opportunity to set some of that straight today. We are going to go over old customs as well as new customs. Hopefully by the time you leave today you know something about Thanksgiving that you did not know before!
First Thanksgiving History For Kids
Thanksgiving Facts For Kids
I say we get this kicked off by going over some interesting and fun Thanksgiving facts for kids. I hope you enjoy the fun facts about Thanksgiving below!
♦ The first Thanksgiving celebration lasted 3 days.
♦ Believe it or not, some things missing from the first Thanksgiving were… Pumpkin Pie, milk, corn on the cob, cranberries and mashed potatoes.
♦ The first Thanksgiving feast was made up of Lobster, fish, beans, chestnuts, onions, leeks, maple syrup, honey, eggs, goat cheese, rabbit, chicken, fish and squashes.
♦ Spoons, fingers and knives were used by pilgrims, forks were not present.
♦ The Plymouth Pilgrims were the fist to celebrate Thanksgiving.
♦ The Pilgrims voyaged across the Atlantic Ocean to reach North America.
♦ The Pilgrims were taught how to cultivate the land by the Wampanoag Indians.
♦ The ship the Pilgrims sailed across the Atlantic is was called the Mayflower. Bet you knew that one though.
♦ Governor William Bradford is given credit for organizing the first Thanksgiving feast, he was the leader of the Pilgrims.
♦ Ben Franklin wanted to have the Turkey represent the US and be used as the national bird instead of the Bald Eagle.
♦ Sarah Josepha Hale, who is also the author of Mary Had A Little Lamb, is the one who persuaded Abraham Lincoln to make Thanksgiving a National holiday.
♦ The “Thanksgiving Proclamation” was created by Abraham Lincoln on the 3rd of October 1863 which declared the last Thursday of November of every year Thanksgiving.
♦ The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade was in the 1920’s.
♦ The National Turkey Federation has presented a live turkey and two dressed turkeys to the President. The live turkey is a lucky one, it does not get eaten, it get’s a “pardon” and lives its days out on a historical farm. This traditions started in 1947.
♦ About 280 million turkeys are sold for Thanksgiving each year.
♦ Around 16-18 pounds of turkey are consumed by the average American a year.
♦ The largest consumers of turkeys in the US are Californians.
♦ Although we celebrate Thanksgiving on the 4th Thursday of every November, in Canada it is celebrated on the second Monday in October.
♦ The beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season is referred to as Black Friday. This is the Friday after Thanksgiving.
♦ Turkeys have really strange sleeping habits, you wont believe where they sleep! Where do wild turkeys sleep at night?
First Thanksgiving History For Kids
Thanksgiving Facts For Kids
Now that we have went over a bunch of interesting and fun Thanksgiving facts for kids it’s time to talk a little history of Thanksgiving. There is a pretty rich history that is associated with Thanksgiving and I think it’s important that we understand this holiday that we celebrate. Alright, let’s get to it!
History Of Thanksgiving For Kids
A very long time ago in the early 1600’s there was a group of people that left England so that they could be free to worship God in their own way. The King of England back then controlled the church and demanded that everyone worship in the same types of churches. You would be sent to jail if you disobeyed this order.
There was a group of people who wanted to free their people from the church of the kings rules. Their goal was to make the church pure by removing it from the kings rules. This is how they received their name “Puritans”. They decided in order to claim their religious freedom they would need to leave their home country. About 100 men, women and children decided to take a voyage or “pilgrimage” on the Mayflower to America. 
Known now as Pilgrims they landed in Plymouth after a long six week voyage. They landed on a very strange land on a very cold December day. It was December 11th 1620 that they finally arrived to America.
The first year was very difficult for the Pilgrims. It was extremely cold and many lost their lives over that first year. They were lucky to have the help of the natives of the land. They supplied them with food and seeds, and taught them about their new land and how to cultivate it. They taught them the skills they would need to survive in this strange new world.
Although many died in that first year the Pilgrims were learning how to live. The planted crops with the seeds that were given to them by the Native Americans. Their first fall harvest was a good one. To celebrate their good fortune, they decided to have a feast or “Thanksgiving”.
Captain Miles Standish, invited the Native Americans to join them at their feast. They were after all, responsible for helping the Pilgrims learn how to get this wonderful crop. The feast was a giant one and lasted for 3 days!
Unfortunately the peace between Native Americans and Pilgrims only lasted about a generation. I would get more into that, but that will be for another day!
That is the little known history of thanksgiving for kids.
Thanksgiving Facts For Kids
Quick History Of Thanksgiving The National Holiday
Here is video that is about 5 minutes long that goes over the history of the holiday Thanksgiving. It’s a quick and fun watch, it’s great for educating kids on the history of the holiday itself.
Thanksgiving Facts For Kids
First Thanksgiving History For Kids Conclusion
Thank you again so much for showing so much interest in this wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving. I hope these Thanksgiving facts for kids and history of Thanksgiving for kids were a good read for you. My hope is that you take this with you and share with everyone you know. The more people who actually understand the history behind Thanksgiving the better!
Now that you have read about Thanksgiving check out some fun facts about Halloween and Turkeys and some other holidays. Don’t forget to check out our other great facts for kids articles. I also have a gift buying guide for this holiday season, just look at the bar on the right! Enjoy!
