By: Thea Reid

Fun Thanksgiving Facts

Let’s talk turkey!

• Americans feast on 535 million pounds of turkey on Thanksgiving.
• According the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the United States at Thanksgiving. That number represents one sixth of all the turkeys sold in the U.S. each year!
• Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be our national bird.
• Domesticated turkeys cannot fly, however wild turkeys can fly up to 55 miles per hour over short distances.
• Only male (tom) turkeys gobble. Females make a clicking noise. The famous gobble is actually a seasonal mating call.
• The Turkey Trot, a ballroom dance in the 1900s, was named for the short, jerky steps of the turkey. It became popular mainly because it was denounced by the Vatican as “suggestive.”
• Turkeys are known to spend the night in trees! (Maybe to escape the Thanksgiving table?)
• Turkeys can drown if they look up when it’s raining!
• A turkey’s field of vision is 270 degrees–one of the main reasons they’re able to elude some hunters.
• The average person consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day. Now that’s a lot of turkey!

Thanksgiving Is Not Just an “American” Holiday

Giving thanks on Thanksgiving is an important American tradition, but it’s not ours alone. In fact, six other nations besides the U.S. have officially declared Thanksgiving Days: Brazil, Canada, Japan, Korea, Switzerland and Argentina. Thanksgiving celebrations have also been celebrated for hundreds of years, including in some ancient cultures.

The Greeks
The ancient Greeks celebrated a festival of the harvest called Thesmosphoria each autumn. Their goddess of corn and other grains was Demeter who was honored at the festival.

The Romans
The Romans also celebrated a fall harvest festival in honor of their goddess of corn, Ceres (where the word cereal comes from). The Romans celebrated a Thanksgiving feast where they offered the first fruits of the harvest and pigs to Ceres. Their Thanksgiving was held on October 4th each autumn.

The Chinese
The ancient Chinese celebrated their harvest festival, Chung Ch’ui, in accordance with the full moon that fell on the 15th day of the 8th month. They considered this day to be the birthday of the moon. Special “moon cakes” were baked and stamped with a picture of a rabbit to honor their belief that a rabbit is on the face of the moon. These cakes were eaten with a Thanksgiving meal during the 3-day festival. It was believed that flowers would fall from the moon during the festival and those that saw the flowers would soon receive good fortune.

The Hebrews
Jewish families also celebrate a harvest festival called Sukkoth. This autumn festival has been celebrated for over 3000 years. Sukkoth begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Tishri, 5 days after Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish year. The holiday is named for the huts (succots) that Moses and the Israelites lived in as they wandered the desert for 40 years before they reached the Promised Land. Sukkoth lasts for 8 days and Jewish people construct temporary huts from branches with a covered roof made of with foliage that allows the natural sunlight in. Fruits and vegetables, including apples, grapes, corn and pomegranates hang inside the hut and on the first 2 nights of Sukkoth, the families eat their meals in the huts under the evening sky.

The Egyptians
The ancient Egyptians celebrated their harvest festival in honor of Min, their god of vegetation and fertility. The festival was held in the springtime, the Egyptians’ harvest season and featured a parade in which the Pharaoh took part. After the parade a great feast was held with music, dancing and sports as part of the celebration. When the Egyptian farmers harvested their corn, they wept and pretended to be grief stricken to deceive the spirit which they believed lived in the corn.

Give a gift that gets thanks this year. Send gorgeous fresh flower arrangements, centerpieces for the holiday table, terrific gourmet gift baskets and more to everyone you’re thankful for! Thanksgiving Flowers and Gifts from 1800 Flowers.com

About the Author

After many years in the IT/Tech industry, I fell into SEO in 2006. I am now a self-employed SEO/SMM (Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Marketing) and owner of SEM Simple.com based in the New York City area. As an SEO, I regularly write copy that will attract high search engine rankings and increase on page visit time. Sound like fun? Well, for me it is. Writing is just one of many creative outlets afforded to me by the SEO/SMM industry. I have an opinion on everything and will write about pretty much anything. I am Google Adwords certified and ALZA certified for PPC and SEO. When I’m not with a client, an ironic tee with jeans is my uniform and sarcasm is my drug of choice.

(ArticlesBase SC #647624)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Thanksgiving Customs & Fun Facts

By: N M Murray

No traditional Thanksgiving menu would complete without a golden roasted turkey as the centerpiece.

But cooking Thanksgiving turkey can seem a daunting task.

Here are my tips to help you through it.

Firstly, you’ll need to know the size of the turkey you need. So, around 3 to 4 weeks ahead of time get an estimate of how many people will be coming so you can plan out your Thanksgiving dinner ideas. You’ll need to order your turkey 2 to 3 weeks ahead. Check with your supermarket or butcher to make sure.

If you decide on a fresh bird, leave it until the Wednesday to pick up so it will be well chilled and really fresh.

If you’ve had to buy frozen, then make sure you can pick it up on the Monday so it has time to thaw out.

The only safe way to thaw out a turkey is in the fridge. Leaving it on a bench or in a tub of water is far too risky.

If you are going to soak your turkey in brine you will need to pick it up even earlier so it’s thawed before it goes into the brine mix.

Once your turkey is thawed, it’s ready to roast. Keep it chilled until needed.

Your turkey could take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours to cook depending on its size so get an early start.

Rinse the turkey inside and out in plenty of cold running water. Pat it dry with paper towels and put it straight onto your roasting rack. Of course, you will have measured your roasting pan and oven before you bought your turkey!

Your turkey is now ready for seasoning or stuffing.

There are many different Thanksgiving stuffing recipes to choose from, all add flavor and help to keep your turkey moist. However, stuffing your turkey means it will need longer to cook, so keep this in mind when deciding on your Thanksgiving recipes.

Keep the stuffing mixture loose and fluffy and don’t spoon it into the cavity tightly. There needs to be room for the stuffing to expand and for heat to penetrate evenly.

Remember to weigh your turkey after it has been stuffed to calculate the correct cooking time.

Truss your turkey with kitchen string or twine to help it keep a nice shape and then put it into the bottom of your preheated oven.

Baste your turkey every 30 minute or so, or as directed by your recipe. You may have to cover the whole turkey in tin foil to keep it from becoming overly dry.

Towards the end of the cooking time, start checking the color of the juices that run out when you pierce the deepest part of the thigh. A meat thermometer is also a great way to keep check on how well cooked your turkey is.

As soon as it is done, transfer the turkey to a tray and wrap it in a foil tent. Let it rest in a warm place until ready for carving. 30 minutes or so will make the job easier.

While the turkey is resting you have plenty of time to make up some gravy from the pan drippings and finish off any Thanksgiving side dishes that need to be warmed or baked.

You’ll find more detail on cooking Thanksgiving turkey and a whole host of Thanksgiving dinner ideas on my website.

Enjoy keeping your Thanksgiving traditions alive this year by cooking a tasty turkey!

About the Author

Ms Murray is the editor of Better-Living-Ideas.com.

Visit now for more Thanksgiving recipes and to find a kit that will help make this the best Thanksgiving yet.

(ArticlesBase SC #1425672)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Easy Steps to Cooking Thanksgiving Turkey

By: Ann

The holidays are fast approaching with Thanksgiving only a few weeks away and we are starting to think about preparing our family feasts.  Whether you are serving a small family of 2 or extended family of 20, you can have the picture perfectThanksgiving table.  Your Thanksgiving table can be casual or elaborate as you want.

Setting the perfect Thanksgiving table starts with the perfect picture in your mind. The colors of fall are beautiful and intertwined. Choose your colors for your table linens. Personally, I start with a solid color table cloth and compliment the table cloth with a harvest style runner, very eye catching.

Keep in mind the colors of your dishes, compliment the dishes with your corresponding table linens. You can choose a printed table cloth and solid runner or solid table cloth and solid runner, or a solid table cloth with a design embedded, remember that picture in your mind.

Table Padding helps with the setting of your perfect Thanksgiving Table. Not only does the table padding protect your table finish from liquid spills, hot spots, scratches, dents and nicks it helps to absorb sound and gives the tablecloth a gentle flowing drape and prevents the tablecloth from sliding or pulling.

Table padding is made of felt and vinyl and the soft backing is safer for many modern finishes. Table padding comes in many sizes or can be cut to the size of your table or cut longer to include the drop or overhang.

Need help figuring out what size and shape of tablecloth you need? Tablecloths come in square, round, oblong (rectangle), and oval.

Do you know the difference between and oblong and oval tablecloth? Many time people confuse oblong with oval. An oblong tablecloth is designed to fit a rectangle table with square corners and an oval tablecloth fits an egg-shaped table.

Do you know how to figure out your tablecloth size?
Measure the width and length of your table. Add the overhang or drop, which is how long the tablecloth will hang over the side, typically the desired overhang is 10-12 to lap level on dining tables and 15 inches for banquet tables.

Once you have these measurements, add the overhang times 2 to each measurement of your table. You don’t want the tablecloth to be too long. Your guests should be able to be able to sit and not have the tablecloth touch their legs, you don’t want anyone pulling that tablecloth!!

Example: If your table size is 30×72 inches and the desired drop is 12 inches you would figure it this way:
12 inch (drop size) X 2 would be 24 inches
Add the 30″ (from your table measurement) to the 24″ (doubled desired drop) = 54 inches
Add the 72″ (from your table measurement) to the 24″ (doubled desired drop) = 96 inches

The perfect cloth size for your table would be 54 X 96 inches. Tablecloths typically come in standard sizes you would then select the size closest to those figures.

I happen to be a big fan of Table Runners. Table runners are sometimes called “scarves” and are pieces of material that run lengthwise or across your table. Table runners can run within the dimensions of a table or extend into the overhang.  When setting your Thanksgiving Table, runners add a touch of the season

I think Table Runners add character to a table setting, especially at Thanksgiving and the holidays. They can be used to complement your table linens, used as decorations, to hide a leaf or just let your imagination run wild.

The Charger is making a big come back on tables. The charger makes a table look more elegant, whether serving dinner to your family or entertaining the guests.

Chargers are simply under plates that are used at each place setting of a formal table. The charger will be larger than the actual dinner and salad plates used to hold the food. The dinner plate is never placed on the charger. When you are shopping for chargers, place the salad plate or soup bowl, not the dinner plate, on the charger to see how it sizes and coordinates.

Historically, chargers were used in the best of restaurants to hold a place at the table before the diners arrived. This also aided in the setting of a elaborate table. Without a place for the plate, it was difficult to place the silverware properly. Once guests were seated, the plates were removed and the dinner process began.

Today, a charger is still used as a marker, but is used when dinner is served in courses. The appetizer, soup, and salad plates are placed on the charger, creating and elegant look and the charger also helps to keep the area around the diner clean before the entree is served.

The charger should compliment the choices of china, silverware, and décor of the table setting. A charger may be used with or without placemats, depending on your table setting.

The use of the right charger can add a touch of elegance to the table. By coordinating the design of the table setting, the color choices, and the pattern used for the china, the charger will beautify other pieces and create a sense of an elegant table setting.

A napkin is a napkin or is it?

There are so many things that you can do with a napkin.

Napkins are a piece of material (made of cloth or paper) used to clean the lips or fingers and for protection of clothing. Napkins can be made of a variety of fabrics including cotton, linen, silk, and cotton/polyester blends. Cotton, Linen, and Silk napkins are typically used for more formal settings while cotton/polyester blends are used for casual everyday dining.

Turning a plain piece of cloth into an exotic swan for instance, brings back my many days in the catering business. Napkin folding can turn your table into an elegant work of art and it is an easy and fun task. Not into napkin folding, then napkin rings are the best thing. There are napkin rings for anyone budget and taste.

For ease of serving and cleaning, I like to use Stoneware/CorningWare serving dishes, that can easily go from the oven to your table. Stoneware is attractive, microwave proof and even oven proof. Right from your oven to your table, eliminating extra dishes, pots and pans. Another reason you need table padding, to save your table from the heat of serving dishes.

Just as versatile as stoneware is Corning ware, both help eliminate extra chores on Thanksgiving Day and add beauty to your Thanksgiving Table.

Most of us know how to set a table, but for those that need a little refresher here is an overview…on setting the perfect Thanksgiving Table

* Forks should go on the left and spoons and knives to the right of the plate.
* An easy way to remember the correct order to place utensils is that they go in the order in which you use them; so the salad fork goes on the outside left while the larger fork used to eat the main course goes on the inside left. Turn the blade of all knifes so they face toward the plate, why well in midevil times the blade pointing out meant harm to the person next to you.
* If you are using chargers, place the salad plate and/or soup bowl on the charger.
* Place the side plate or bread and butter plate to the left of your place setting;
* Place the wineglass at the tip of the main-course knife. The water glass and any other glasses should be arranged in the order they will be used with the first one on the outside.
* The napkins can go under the knife and spoon or on the side plate. If you choose to use napkin holders or fancy folds, the napkin can go on top of the charger plate set up or even in the water glass for a more decorative and elegant place setting.

Truth be told…I leave this to the kids, who have a great time trying figuring out who sits next to who. It’s a great touch to create and decorate place cards.

Place the cards either on the charger plate setup or better yet in attractive place card holders which are placed on the charger plate setup or directly on top of the charger plate setup.

Using place or name cards adds a finishing touch on your Thanksgiving Table Setting.

What do you say about Glassware? There are so many styles and shapes that just can boggle the mind. Most importantly, set a water glass, wine glass if you serve wine or alcohol and for the more adventurous, a stylish shot glass for the tradition after dinner sambuca with coffee beans.

Finally, for an extra special touch, you could leave a small gift at each place setting. If you shop around in dollar discount stores you can find all kinds of small gift items. Wrap them and use ribbon to give them a holiday look. You could even place the name cards in a frame for your guests to bring home.

Decorating your table with a Harvest Centerpiece or Cornucopia will give your table a Thanksgiving feeling. Candlesticks are another great way to decorate your table and add a flair of elegance.

The final and finishing touches create a perfect Thanksgiving Table Setting!

About the Author

Learn more about setting your Thanksgiving Table at Set The Perfect Thanksgiving Table and make your Thanksgiving and every holiday picture perfect.

Ann Cohen is a former caterer who loves to entertain and decorate on a budget.

(ArticlesBase SC #1456938)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – How To Set The Perfect Thanksgiving Table

By: Michele Cardello

Even though most people associate this work by Rockwell as a Thanksgiving picture, Freedom From Want actually first appeared on The Saturday Evening Post cover in the month of March. It is completely understandable why people would pick a painting such as the Norman Rockwell classic Freedom From Want as their primary source of scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. After all, it has all the necessary elements for scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving: a family at the table, turkey, and a truly inviting atmosphere. However, some of the best scrapbooking ideas for thanksgiving don’t come from the dinner setting, but everything else that happens on that day.

After all, very few people hold a Thanksgiving dinner at their house and immediately serve the guests the moment they walk through the door. Generally, most hosts realize that there will be some downtime before dinner. During this time, family members can get together and talk while the children can play. Why not make this the subject of your scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving pages?

This is the mistake most scrappers make when choosing their pictures for their scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving: they wait until the dinner to take the photos. While the dinner certain has some interesting scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving, the best scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving occur way before dinner is served. The time before the dinner is served might be the memories that your guests remember the most.

Things like the children sitting around the television watching a movie or playing a video is just one example of scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. Even better are “Thanksgiving firsts” for your scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. For example, someone may have brought over their newborn child for all the family to see. Certainly an event like this deserves some press. The scrapper should take some pictures of relatives seeing the child for the first time, capturing the expressions and reactions.

After all, some people may have families where the relatives live very far away, and it can be very difficult to get everyone under the same roof for any period of time. Take advantage of this time as much as you can, and don’t even ask people to pose. Just take as many pictures in the natural surrounding, and in some cases the photographer does not have to acknowledge his or her presence.

Taking pictures before the dinner and putting simple frames around them is one of the easiest scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. Sometimes finding a common theme in each of the photos and running with it is worth quite a bit with scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. Peppered with these pictures can be traditional Thanksgiving images like red and orange leaves, pumpkins, and of course, turkeys, and it will be a guaranteed success. Years later, when the family looks at the pages, they will have memories to remember.

About the Author

Michele Cardello, director of marketing and creative for Life Imprints, a creative scrapbooking supplies company in Cleveland, Ohio, has worked in the photo packaging industry for 10 years. Cardello helps customers find creative ways to preserve and appreciate a lifetime of memories.

(ArticlesBase SC #279311)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Scrapbooking Ideas for Thanksgiving: Timeless Traditions

By: Karen Smith

A Cape Cod Thanksgiving brings about a certain nostalgia.

As you and your family get ready to feast on turkey and more, take a moment to think back on what the first Thanksgiving might have been like. On Cape Cod, the first Thanksgiving feast could have happened mere miles away, right in Plymouth, MA.

Facts About Thanksgiving

Many historians have stated that the Wampanoag Indians and Plymouth colonists shared a fall harvest feast together, back in 1621. This became a symbol of the interaction and cooperation between the Native Americans and English colonists.

Many folks believe that particular feast to be the very first Thanksgiving celebration. But the truth is, it was really maintaining a long tradition of celebrating the giving thanks and harvest for successful bounties of crops.

Historians have also researched other acts of thanks among European settlers in North America. This has even included British colonists at the Virginia Berkeley Planation. It was there that some British settlers had kneeled, prayed and pledged Thanksgiving to God. They gave thanks for arriving safely after the great travel across the Atlantic. Now some scholars actually acknowledge this event as marking the first official Thanksgiving throughout European settlers on record.

Thanksgiving celebrations, especially Thanksgiving feasts, symbolize important meaning over time – regardless if at the Berkeley Plantation or Plymouth.

What Was On The Menu?

It is fairly safe to say that pilgrims back then were not eating buttery mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie! But on the other hand, historians are not entirely sure about what items were included on a full Thanksgiving feast.

In 1621 Edward Winslow, in \”A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth\”, gave a very detailed description of the \”First Thanksgiving\”:

\”Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.\”

Historian Richard Pickering is the deputy director of Massachusetts\’ Plimoth Plantation. According to him, the colonists\’ feasts could have also included mussels, lobster, fish, eel, turnips, radishes, Indian corn, and spinach. Wow that really is a great feast!

And Pickering adds, \”Oh, and there wasn\’t a Thanksgiving pilgrim buckle in sight,\”.

Traditional Turkey

In modern day Thanksgiving celebrations, why are items such as pumpkin pies, stuffing and turkeys such necessities?

Pickering comments on this, \”The Thanksgiving we practice today has more to do with myth than reality\”. In the 1860s President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday. The food we eat now at Thanksgiving is more in line to the cooking from the 1860s, surprisingly enough.

About the Author

Make reservations for a spectacular Thanksgiving dinner at the best Cape Cod hotel – and take advantage of a holiday package being offered by many hotels on Cape Cod.

(ArticlesBase SC #1509143)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – A Bit Of Cape Cod Thanksgiving History