What's next, having your Turkey and mash potatoes to go....?. Let's look at the Numbers, Pilgrim
Black Friday, of course, also refers to the single day of the year when retail companies finally go “into the black� (i.e. make a profit). The day after Thanksgiving is when crowds of turkey-stuffed shoppers descend on stores all over the country to take advantage of the season’s biggest holiday bargains. But the real story behind Black Friday is a bit more complicated—and darker—than that. The first recorded use of the term “Black Friday� was applied not to holiday shopping but to financial crisis: specifically, the crash of the U.S. gold market on September 24, 1869. Two notoriously ruthless Wall Street financiers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, worked together to buy up as much as they could of the nation’s gold, hoping to drive the price sky-high and sell it for astonishing profits. On that Friday in September, the conspiracy finally unraveled, sending the stock market into free-fall and bankrupting everyone from Wall Street barons to farmers. The most commonly repeated story behind the post-Thanksgiving shopping-related Black Friday tradition links it to retailers. As the story goes, after an entire year of operating at a loss (“in the red�) stores would supposedly earn a profit (“went into the black�) on the day after Thanksgiving, because holiday shoppers blew so much money on discounted merchandise. Though it’s true that retail companies used to record losses in red and profits in black when doing their accounting, this version of Black Friday’s origin is the officially sanctioned—but inaccurate—story behind the tradition. The true story behind Black Friday is not as sunny as retailers might have you believe. Back in the 1950s, police in the city of Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaos that ensued on the day after Thanksgiving, when hordes of suburban shoppers and tourists flooded into the city in advance of the big Army-Navy football game held on that Saturday every year. Not only would Philly cops not be able to take the day off, but they would have to work extra-long shifts dealing with the additional crowds and traffic. Shoplifters would also take advantage of the bedlam in stores to make off with merchandise, adding to the law enforcement headache. In recent years, another myth has surfaced that gives a particularly ugly twist to the tradition, claiming that back in the 1800s Southern plantation owners could buy slaves at a discount on the day after Thanksgiving. Though this version of Black Friday’s roots has understandably led some to call for a boycott of the retail holiday, it has no basis in historical fact. By 1961, “Black Friday� had caught on in Philadelphia, to the extent that the city’s merchants and boosters tried unsuccessfully to change it to “Big Friday� in order to remove the negative connotations. The term didn’t spread to the rest of the country until much later, however, and as recently as 1985 it still wasn’t in common use nationwide. Sometime in the late 1980s, however, retailers found a way to reinvent Black Friday and turn it into something that reflected positively, rather than negatively, on them and their customers. The scheme was the “red to black� concept of the holiday mentioned earlier, and the notion that the day after Thanksgiving marked the occasion when America’s stores finally turned a profit. (In fact, stores traditionally see bigger sales on the Saturday before Christmas.) The Black Friday story stuck, and today the term’s darker roots are largely forgotten. Since then, the one-day sales bonanza has morphed into a four-day event, spawning other “retail holidays� such as Small Business Saturday/ Sunday and Cyber Monday. Stores started opening earlier and earlier on that Friday, and now the most dedicated shoppers can head out right after their Thanksgiving meal.
In the fall of 1621, early settlers of Plymouth Colony (the pilgrims) and members of the Wampanoag tribe, (who were essential to the survival of the colonists during the newcomers’ first year), held a three-day feast to celebrate a bountiful harvest. Many regard this event as the nation’s first Thanksgiving. Todays Thanksgiving menu is a far cry from what the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe feasted on that historic autumn day. In fact, there is only one written account of the first Thanksgiving, and turkey isn't mentioned. Additionally, the Pilgrims didn't have a large sugar supply, so the meal probably did not include pies, cakes, and other sweet treats either. In fact, 400 years ago, diners more likely enjoyed seal, swans, venison, and duck, quite possibly prepared using traditional Native American spices and cooking methods. Today 6,500 The number of members of the Wampanoag American Indian tribal grouping as of 2010, roughly half of whom resided in Massachusetts. 23.8 million The number of U.S. residents of English ancestry as of 2016. Some could very well be descendants of the Plymouth colonists who participated in the autumn feast that is widely believed to be one of the first Thanksgivings, especially the 636,000 living in Massachusetts. 118.9 million The number of occupied housing units across the nation in the second quarter of 2017 — all potential stops for Thanksgiving dinner. 46.3 million The estimate of Americans who will travel 50 miles or more for Thanksgiving dinner, the highest number of Turkey Day travelers since 2007, according to AAA. 736 million The estimated weight of the 46 million turkeys consumed (about the weight of the Empire State building). 50 million The amount of pumpkin pies eaten at Thanksgiving — of which only one million are sold at Costco. 2.4 billion The amount that will be spent on thanksgiving feasts alone. 4,500 / 229 The amount of calories and fat in that order consumed per person on an average thanksgiving day.
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------------------------------------------A man and his wife who had recently moved into a new neighborhood were invited to Thanksgiving dinner by their next door neighbors. When the new couple arrived at the door at the appointed time, the host was taken aback to see that they were accompanied by a large and rather mangeylooking dog. Although surprised that they would bring a pet with them to dinner, the man politely said nothing and graciously invited them in for a get-acquainted chat until dinner was ready. As they sat talking in the living room the host kept glancing a nervous eye at the dog as it trotted freely through the house sniffing furniture and clumsily bumping things to the floor. Not wanting to embarrass the couple, the man politely held his tongue as the animal continued its snooping. Soon after the dog had trotted into the kitchen there was a loud crash. When the host jumped to his feet to investigate, he was aghast to see the dog on the kitchen counter with its nose in the Turkey, vigorously gulping the main entrĂŠe as fast as it could. "Stop!" shouted the man as he pushed the animal to the floor. "Enough! This is enough!" he yelled. Turning to the couple he said, "Don't you have any control over your dog? Why did you ever want to bring this obnoxious animal with you?" "What?" said the wide-eyed guest. "That's not our dog we thought it was yours!"
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