Did You Know?
Facts, Figures &
Folklore about the Pilgrims
& America’s Thanksgiving
Nov 20 : 06 days till Thanksgiving

Did you know that Americans raise 649 million pounds of cranberries, 1.6 billion pounds of sweet potatoes, and 998 million pounds of pumpkin?

In addition to domestically grown and raised Thanksgiving food, the U.S. also imports $5.2 million worth of live turkeys from Canada, $2.2 million worth of cranberries (also from Canada), and $2.3 million dollars worth of sweet potatoes — from the Dominican Republic.

Thanksgiving Day in America is a time to offer thanks, a time for family gatherings and holiday meals. A time of turkeys, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. A time for Indian corn, holiday parades and giant balloons. We are delighted to invite you to partake in our Thanksgiving celebration. Our table is full this year, but we always have room for one more! So join us for a new Did You Know? each day as we count down to Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Thursday November 26th.

Signup for our Did You Know? Holiday Countdown emails or follow us on Twitter – twitter.com/holidaysnet (@holidaysnet)

I’m borrowing that headline from cookturkey.net and their posting about the dangers from, and the safety needed, when frying a turkey for Thanksgiving.

To be honest growing up in New York I never heard of a “fried turkey” for Thanksgiving, or honestly for any day!

Its only been the past number of years, and probably thanks in a large part to the chefs over at the Food Network, that frying has become another popular way to serve your holiday bird. (BTW – I lived in Los Angeles for 10 years and never ran into anyone that fried their turkey either!)

So stop by cookturkey.net for their list of things to do and a number of videos showing what happens when you don’t plan and prepare when frying a turkey.

photo credit: via flickr.

Did You Know?
Facts, Figures &
Folklore about the Pilgrims
& America’s Thanksgiving
Nov 19 : 07 days till Thanksgiving

Did you know that the average Thanksgiving turkey weighs 15 pounds?

Hens can range from 10 to 18 pounds, while toms can be as large as 25 pounds. The most traditional way to prepare a turkey is to stuff and roast it, although some chefs — particularly in the south — swear by deep frying their birds.

Thanksgiving Day in America is a time to offer thanks, a time for family gatherings and holiday meals. A time of turkeys, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. A time for Indian corn, holiday parades and giant balloons. We are delighted to invite you to partake in our Thanksgiving celebration. Our table is full this year, but we always have room for one more! So join us for a new Did You Know? each day as we count down to Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Thursday November 26th.

Signup for our Did You Know? Holiday Countdown emails or follow us on Twitter – twitter.com/holidaysnet (@holidaysnet)

Did You Know?
Facts, Figures &
Folklore about the Pilgrims
& America’s Thanksgiving
Nov 18 : 08 days till Thanksgiving

Did you know that there is no historical evidence that the first Thanksgiving included turkey, which is, of course, the centerpiece of today’s Thanksgiving meal?

There was, however, mention of wild turkeys in a book written by Pilgrim Governor Bradford.

Thanksgiving Day in America is a time to offer thanks, a time for family gatherings and holiday meals. A time of turkeys, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. A time for Indian corn, holiday parades and giant balloons. We are delighted to invite you to partake in our Thanksgiving celebration. Our table is full this year, but we always have room for one more! So join us for a new Did You Know? each day as we count down to Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Thursday November 26th.

Signup for our Did You Know? Holiday Countdown emails or follow us on Twitter – twitter.com/holidaysnet (@holidaysnet)

Did You Know?
Facts, Figures &
Folklore about the Pilgrims
& America’s Thanksgiving
Nov 17 : 09 days till Thanksgiving

Did you know that the most popular Thanksgiving dinner includes a menu of turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie?

Then it’s only fitting that Americans raise over 256 million turkeys. The biggest producer of turkeys is Minnesota, followed by North Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia, Missouri and California.

Did you know that U.S. turkey farmers also raised just over 144,000 organic turkeys in 2005?

Thanksgiving Day in America is a time to offer thanks, a time for family gatherings and holiday meals. A time of turkeys, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. A time for Indian corn, holiday parades and giant balloons. We are delighted to invite you to partake in our Thanksgiving celebration. Our table is full this year, but we always have room for one more! So join us for a new Did You Know? each day as we count down to Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Thursday November 26th.

Signup for our Did You Know? Holiday Countdown emails or follow us on Twitter – twitter.com/holidaysnet (@holidaysnet)

Starting tonight (Nov 16) @ 8PM, and every night this week, The Food Network offers their Thanksgiving holiday shows. There will also be rebroadcasts of some of their holiday favorites each afternoon as well.

It looks like all the Food Network Stars are serving up their own version of the holiday classics.

Some of the highlights I’ll be to look forward to -

Giada at Home “Thanksgiving” (Mon 11/16 4:30PM)
Barefoot Contessa “Thanksgiving 2.0″ (Mon 11/16 5PM)
Rachael Ray’s Thanksgiving in 60 #2 (Tue 11/17 8PM)
Paula’s Southern Thanksgiving (Thur 11/19@8PM)
There will also be a different show in the “Dear Food Network: Thanksgiving” series each night, including the Dear Food Network “Giada’s Thanksgiving” (Tues 11/17).

You can find more info for the Food Network’s Thanksgiving shows, as well as other holiday and early Christmas shows, over at TV Tango.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Holidays on the Net is delighted to invite you to partake in our cornucopia of Thanksgiving celebrations.

To get you in the Thanksgiving mood, come learn about the very first Thanksgiving, the freedom-seeking Pilgrims, and the quintessential symbol of Thanksgiving: the turkey. You might also be interested to learn about the traditions of Canadian Thanksgiving, which our neighbors to the north celebrate in October.

When it comes time to cook, you will definitely want to visit our tutorial on how to roast a turkey. In fact, we have plenty of recipes, decorating tips and craft ideas to make your Thanksgiving table extra special. We think you will especially enjoy our countdown of the Top Seven Stuffing Recipes.

And finally, don’t forget to stop by our fun Did You Know Thanksgiving feature, where you can test your knowledge of Thanksgiving trivia.

However you are celebrating Thanksgiving this year, we know you will find something to be thankful for over at Holidays on the Net. We look forward to seeing you there!

Happy Holidays,

Louie and the Holiday Elves

Did You Know?
Facts, Figures &
Folklore about the Pilgrims
& America’s Thanksgiving
Nov 16 : 10 days till Thanksgiving

Did you know that Thanksgiving didn’t become an official national holiday for more than 200 years?

It wasn’t until 1863 that President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November a national day of thanksgiving.

Did you know that as many 107 million American homes will celebrate Thanksgiving this year?

Thanksgiving Day in America is a time to offer thanks, a time for family gatherings and holiday meals. A time of turkeys, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. A time for Indian corn, holiday parades and giant balloons. We are delighted to invite you to partake in our Thanksgiving celebration. Our table is full this year, but we always have room for one more! So join us for a new Did You Know? each day as we count down to Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Thursday November 26th.

Signup for our Did You Know? Holiday Countdown emails or follow us on Twitter – twitter.com/holidaysnet (@holidaysnet)

National Native American Heritage Month, 2009
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2009 as National Native American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to commemorate this month with appropriate programs and activities, and to celebrate November 27, 2009, as Native American Heritage Day.

Full Text of Presidential Proclamation: National Native American Heritage Month

Did You Know?
Facts, Figures &
Folklore about the Pilgrims
& America’s Thanksgiving
Nov 15 : 11 days till Thanksgiving

Did you know that the first thanksgiving celebration was held in the fall of 1621 by the proclamation of Pilgrim Governor William Bradford?

He invited the neighboring Native Americans to join with the colonists in the three-day celebration, which featured games, races, bow and arrow competitions, and of course feasting of the bounty of the fall harvest.

Thanksgiving Day in America is a time to offer thanks, a time for family gatherings and holiday meals. A time of turkeys, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. A time for Indian corn, holiday parades and giant balloons. We are delighted to invite you to partake in our Thanksgiving celebration. Our table is full this year, but we always have room for one more! So join us for a new Did You Know? each day as we count down to Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Thursday November 26th.

Signup for our Did You Know? Holiday Countdown emails or follow us on Twitter – twitter.com/holidaysnet (@holidaysnet)