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The First TV Dinner1） Was Thanksgiving Leftovers

In 1953， someone at Swanson2） severely overestimated the amount of turkey Americans would consume at Thanksgiving. With 260 tons of frozen birds to get rid of， a company salesman named Gerry Thomas ordered 5000 aluminum3） trays， recruited4） an assembly line of women armed with spatulas5） and ice—cream scoops6） and began creating mini—feasts of turkey， corn—bread dressing7）， peas and sweet potatoes—creating the first—ever TV dinner. Thomas later said he got the idea from neatly packaged airplane food.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Tried to Change the Date

Franklin D. Roosevelt learned the hard way8） not to mess with some traditions. In 1939， the President declared that Americans should celebrate the annual feast one week early， hoping the decision would spur9） retail sales during the Great Depression. But Americans did not react kindly to the New Deal10） meal. Some took to the streets while others took to name calling11）； the mayor of Atlantic City solved the controversy by declaring his residents would simply enjoy two meals—Thanksgiving and "Franksgiving". After two years of squabbling12） （or gobbling13）， as it were）， Congress adopted a resolution in 1941 setting the fourth Thursday of November as the legal holiday.

We Eat a Lot of Turduckens

Thanks to the culinary14） genius of Louisiana （or Wyoming or South Carolina—each region has staked15） its claim）， more and more Americans are forsaking16） Butterballs for Turduckens. A what？ Picture this： a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken. It's like a Russian nesting doll17） only with poultry. One store in Louisiana claims to ship more than 5000 turduckens the week before the feast.

There's Debate over Which President First Pardoned a Turkey

The annual White House tradition of pardoning a turkey before Thanksgiving began in 1947， when President Harry Truman took pity on one lucky fowl. Other historians say the practice began during the 1860s， when Abraham Lincoln granted a pardon to a pet turkey belonging to his son， Tad. The tradition may alleviate18） some of America's guilt， but it doesn't stop us from slaughtering more than 46 million turkeys for the holiday. Even so， as former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin once proved during an interview in her hometown， Americans prefer public acts of mercy to massacres.

Thanksgiving Was Meant to Be a Fast

Thanksgiving was initially meant to be a fast， not a feast. The devout19） settlers at Plymouth Rock mostly recognized "giving of thanks" in the form of prayer and abstaining20） from food. But the Wampanoag21） Indians， who joined the pilgrims22） for their 3—day celebration， contributed their own harvest traditions—dancing， games and feasting—from their ancient festival， Nickommoh， meaning "to give away" or "exchange".