TURKEY…From the first Thanksgiving to today's turkey burgers, turkeys are an American tradition dating back centuries.  According to the National Turkey Federation, 95 percent of Americans eat turkey at Thanksgiving. Known as a "lucky break" the tradition of tugging on either end of a fowl's bone to win the larger piece and its accompanying "wish" dates back to the Etruscans of 322 B.C. The Romans brought the tradition with them when they conquered England and the English colonists carried the tradition on to America.

FOOTBALL…Throughout the United States, football on Thanksgiving Day is as big a part of the celebration as turkey and pumpkin pie. The first intercollegiate football championship was held on Thanksgiving Day in 1876!

Every October carved pumpkins peer out from porches and doorsteps in the United States and other parts of the world. Gourd-like orange fruits inscribed with ghoulish faces and illuminated by candles are a sure sign of the Halloween season.  The practice of decorating “jack-o’-lanterns”— the name comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack—originated in Ireland, where large turnips and potatoes served as an early canvas.