More Thanksgiving stuff (from today's Chicago Tribune) :
A FEAST OF THANKSGIVING TRIVIA
Compiled by Charles Leroux. Allan Johnson, Mike Conklin, Scott L. Powers
and Mark Caro contributed to this article.
November 23, 2000
Now that you're either stuffed or about to be, here's a little light repast on this
day of banquets, a serving of Thanksgiving trivia that touches on everything
from the Pilgrims (who didn't wear buckles on their shoes, by the way; that
came later) to the Macy's parade (where the first helium baloons, without
safety valves, were released and exploded.)
Q: Where in the world is the most turkey consumed per capita?
A--In Israel, where an average of 27 pounds are eaten annually per person.
Q--When was the first Thanksgiving?
A--If you said the Pilgrims' 1621 foodfest, not so fast. That celebration of the
autumn harvest a year after the landing of the Mayflower was only a
continuation of a tradition of thankful feasting that dates back to ancient pagan
and Christian celebrations (not to mention similar expressions of gratitude in
other religious traditions as well). For the first thanksgiving in the New World,
historians look to a celebration of thanks conducted by Ponce De Leon on
April 3, 1513, when he landed in what is now Florida, and another by
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado in what we now know as the Texas
Panhandle in 1541.
Q--What are the next lines of this anonymous Thanksgiving song?
A November day
May I live to see . . .
A--When we carve our turkey and spill our gravy . . .
The song, found on the Internet, is interesting in that it forces the accent to fall
on the second syllable of "gravy."
Q--What Thanksgiving tradition can be seen in the names of restaurants and
taverns today?
A--Olde English spelling. As Rene de Laudonniere said upon arriving at Ft.
Carolina on the St. James River in 1565, " . . . being assembled wee might
give God thankes for our favourable and happie arrival . . . "
Q--When was the holiday officially proclaimed and what was the "lost"
Thanksgiving proclamation?
A--For a time, U.S. presidents proclaimed a day of thanksgiving, a custom
that was dropped around 1800, then resumed by Abraham Lincoln. The
modern date for Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday in November, dates to a
proclamation by Franklin D. Roosevelt.
George Washington was the first to proclaim Thanksgiving in 1789 when the
nation's capital was New York. When the seat of government moved to
Washington, D.C., the document, drafted by his secretary and signed by
Washington, was lost. About 130 years later, Dr. J. C. Fitzpatrick , assistant
chief of the manuscript division of the Library of Congress, found the
document in an auction at a New York art gallery. He bought it on behalf of
the Library, where it now resides. He paid $300.
Q--What is relevant about Oct. 2?
A--That's Canadian Thanksgiving, where you might see more waterfowl,
venison and even moose steak on the menu than you do here.
Q--How do you get a too-long lingering Thanksgiving guest to depart?
A--British Impressionist painter Walter Sickert, quoted in Reader's Digest:
"Do come back when you've a little less time to spare."
Q--What do Love, Desire, Humility and Wrestling have in common?
A--They are first names of some of the children who attended the 1621
Pilgrim Thanksgiving.
Q--What now-traditional Thanksgiving foods were not part of the Pilgrims'
feast?
A--Cranberries (the Pilgrims had access to them but had no sugar to make
them edible), sweet potatoes (not grown in New England at that time, also
ruling out sweet potatoes with little marshmallows), corn on the cob (the corn
available was good only for grinding into meal).
Q-- What's the difference between a sweet potato and a yam?
A--All the differences are too numerous to give here, but, courtesy of some
horticulturists at North Carolina State University, here are a few: The yam,
which originated in West Africa and Asia, is imported while the sweet potato,
which originated in tropical America, is grown locally. The yam is of the yam
family while the sweet potato is part of the morning glory family. The mouth
feel of the yam is dry. The sweet potato, to the glory of many a Thanksgiving
dinner, is moist.
Q--What is "Thanksgiving movie" often a euphemism for?
A--"Dysfunctional family movie." For filmmakers who wish to explore
simmering conflicts among family members, Thanksgiving provides an easy,
non-religious occasion to reunite them under one roof. So we get Holly Hunter
dealing with her bickering, nutty family members in "Home for the Holidays"
(1995); nutty Parker Posey blowing a gasket when her oh-so-close brother
(Josh Hamilton) brings home fiance Tory Spelling in "The House of Yes"
(1997); Noah Wyle returning to his variably messed-up siblings and parents in
"The Myth of Fingerprints" (1997); college student Tobey Maguire visiting his
1973 suburban home to find his family feeling the sexual revolution's hangover
in "The Ice Storm" (1997); and four -- count 'em, four -- families of multiple
ethnicities dealing with almost every family/social dynamic in existence in the
new "What's Cooking?" Other notable Thanksgiving movies: "Hannah and Her
Sisters" (1986), "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" (1987), "Scent of a Woman"
(1992).
Q--What are snood, wattle and caruncle?
A--Not a law firm but names for fleshy appendages found on turkeys from the
neck up. Male turkeys also have a beard. This is a black lock of hair found on
the chest.
Q--Who is the top turkey producer?
A--North Carolina, with 46 million turkeys raised for sale each year, supplies
more of the nation's 276 million turkeys than any other state. Per-capita
consumption in this country is about 18 pounds a year.
Q--Is the turkey a turkey when it comes to value?
A--Not at all. According to the National Turkey Federation in Washington,
D.C., from 1949 to 1993, the price dropped approximately 4.5 percent per
year and that was more than twice the index for all livestock and commodity
groups. This trend has continued.
Q--What is a falloon?
A--It's a word you might hear while watching the Macy's 74th Thanksgiving
Day Parade from New York City, which airs over WMAQ-Ch. 5 at 9 a.m.
Thursday (highlights can also be seen, along with other parades from around
the country, on WBBM-Ch. 2 starting at 9 a.m.). Falloon means a
combination float and balloon. The Macy's parade started in 1924 when
immigrant employees wanted to celebrate their new American heritage by
emulating festivals in their native Europe -- through a parade with costumes,
floats, bands and animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. The large
balloons replaced live animals in 1927 with Felix the Cat and other characters.
Parade favorite Bullwinkle the Moose first appeared in 1961.
Q--Where is Thanks-Giving Square?
A--Surrounded by Akard, Bryan, Ervay and Pacific Streets in the heart of
Dallas. The non-profit Center for World Thanksgiving at Thanks-Giving
Square is a worldwide resource dedicated to revitalizing the ancient spirit of
thanksgiving. The unique Chapel of Thanksgiving, with its distinctive spiral
tower and stained glass, attracts visitors from around the world. The Center
for World Thanksgiving at Thanks-Giving Square was formally established in
1981.
Serving as a national resource for the 200-year-old traditions of prayer and
thanksgiving in America, The Center's primary purpose is to: Gather and share
the thanksgivings of the world; provide a place of honor for the great
American and world traditions; conduct research about gratitude in all
religions and cultures; and promote thanksgiving globally while you, of course,
act locally by chowing down.
END. |
