Some Fun Facts About the Thanksgiving Holiday and History to Gobble up This Season

Everyone knows the Thanksgiving story of the Mayflower, as well as the true story behind it all about Native American people and their land. But when it comes to other aspects of the holiday, it's hard not to want some fun facts about Thanksgiving that will wow everyone around your dinner table and get them to talk about something other than literally everything else going on in the world.

Maybe Thanksgiving and the fall and winter holidays are your favorite time to play catch-up with relatives, regardless of potential arguments about religion, politics, and culture. But if you're looking for something else to discuss, like the top five Thanksgiving side dishes or why Thanksgiving is even called that, we have all the fun little facts you need.

Besides the obvious questions and answers about Thanksgiving and its history there are plenty of other things to learn and know about the holiday. And even if you prefer to stay glued to the TV for football with a turkey leg in your hand during the holiday, chances are, you're going to need something to talk about with Uncle Ed and Aunt Karen at some point. Why not tell them that in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared that every year, Thanksgiving would be celebrated in the United States?

Prior to Thanksgiving actually becoming a regular yearly celebration in the U.S., the early settlers of New England had already been prone to celebrating what they called "thanksgivings" during their prayers. These could be good health or fortune or wars and battles won. And eventually, Thanksgiving became the name to give an overall thanks in the country.

According to Campbell's State of the Sides Report, based on data in the U.S., the number one Thanksgiving side dish is stuffing. Mashed potatoes come in second and, according to the data, they were once the favorite side dish overall. Of course, favorites on Thanksgiving vary from person to person. But based on what Campbell's said, stuffing is the top choice as a side on Turkey Day.

Not only did the first Thanksgiving last three days, but there was no turkey and no pie. At least, according to historians. Since the Wampanoag in attendance brought deer with them, that was most likely the meat that was used as opposed to a stuffed turkey with all the trimmings. And it would be a long time before pumpkin pie became a thing. Now, it's a Thanksgiving staple, but the first Thanksgiving was more of a political meeting than a family dinner.

Pumpkin pie is a mainstay for most families on Thanksgiving. But in some U.S. states, it isn't the top choice for the holiday. According to a study about favorite Thanksgiving desserts by state, Georgia's favorite Thanksgiving dessert is pecan pie. Louisiana is also partial to pecan, and Nebraska favors apple pie over pumpkin.

According to research from Levity, the average person will consume more than 2,000 calories from their Thanksgiving meal alone. A smaller percentage of the people killed in the study claimed they planned to eat 5,000 calories in their meal. And with gravy, buttered mashed potatoes, and so many different desserts, it's easy to see how that number can get pretty high.

People travel a ton over the winter holidays, and summers are also popular for flights to tropical locales. But the Thanksgiving holiday is often said to be the busiest out of the year. And in 2024 alone, AAA predicted that roughly 50 million people would be traveling at some point during the long holiday weekend. Let's just be glad that we have better modes of transportation than the pilgrims did.