Archive for the ‘Fun’ Category
Ever Wonder Where the Name “Turkey” Came From?
During your Thanksgiving meal, did you stop to think about the word “turkey?” Turkey seems to be a weird name for a North American bird, right? Here’s an explanation of how the name came about.
Turkeys were introduced to England around 1526. The birds were brought to the country by merchants who traded in the Turkish-controlled Mediterranean, “Turkey merchants.” Information not being as readily available then as it is today, most English assumed that the large birds came from the East, unaware that they were brought to Europe by the Spanish. And thus the name “turkey.”
So all of those mental images you have of Henry VIII chowing down on a turkey leg are totally plausible.
Happy Thanksgiving!
We here at Skytemple want to wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving! May your holiday be full of things to be thankful for!
Black Friday is Serious Business
Are you planning on getting up early to go shopping on Black Friday? If you live in St. Petersburg, FL, this lady already has you beat.
Talk about dedication…
Mmmmm, Turkey!
Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching, so let’s talk turkey!
An astounding number of turkeys are cooked on Thanksgiving; an estimated 46 million turkeys was the count for Thanksgiving 2009. But the bird that has become so closely linked with the holiday may or may not have been enjoyed at the “First” Thanksgiving. So why do we eat turkey?
Some logical reasons are that the turkey was very common in the American North East in the Pilgrim’s time, one bird could feed a lot of people, and it wasn’t useful in other ways like chickens or cows. So, they were eaten frequently, but not in association with any particular event. The tie between Thanksgiving and turkey grew over time. Turkeys were seen as so American, (they are only found in North America), that Benjamin Franklin preferred them for a national bird. It’s no wonder they’ve come to be seen as an appropriate culinary element for a holiday with strong ties to the founding of America.
We hope you enjoy your turkey (or tofurkey!) this Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving Facts
Thanksgiving is only a few days away! The holiday has come to represent a time of being grateful for the good things in life, food, and family. It is also a holiday that has a history filled with uncertainty and no small amount of controversy. Here are the hard facts about Thanksgiving:
-The primary evidence for the “first Thanksgiving” in Plymouth, MA is scanty, a whole two sources that give us the very basics. There was a feast that lasted for three days and plenty of food, the Plymouth Colony members enjoyed recreations, and there were around 90 Wampanoag men there including one of their leaders Massasoit. And that’s really about it.
-There are a lot of people out there who contradict the traditional “Pilgrims and Native Americans sat down and ate together and were friends!” And rightly so. The politics of the time between the Plymouth Colony and the Wampanoag were complex. Due to the nature of the Internet, however, even the justifiable arguments have spread and mutated into strongly held beliefs without much evidence. Scholar Jeremy Bangs wrote an exhaustive article going through all of the various websites claiming to debunk the myths of Thanksgiving. He doesn’t set down any conclusions, but the article is an interesting, if long, read.
-Thanksgiving wasn’t instituted as a national holiday until October 3, 1863, by Abraham Lincoln after a rather intense campaign by Sarah Josepha Hale to make the holiday a lasting institution. Before that, presidents had declared a day of thanksgiving every year or so, when they felt like it.
-Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to move Thanksgiving to an earlier date in November, with the aim to lengthen the holiday shopping season. It was not a popular move, and so in 1941 the holiday was fixed on the fourth Thursday in November.
