(LOOTPRESS) – Settlers of the Plymouth Colony and their Wampanoag tribe predecessors kicked off a grand tradition way back in 1621. And for that we should all be thankful, if for nothing else than a day off from work and school. But the Thanksgiving we celebrate today is a lot different than that first festival in honor of a particularly bountiful harvest.
Sure, we still eat turkey, potatoes and pumpkin. And we continue to use the occasion to reflect on the things we cherish most, such as friends and family. But a pair of additional F’s – football and Friday – has become just as important to some.
The NFL’s Thanksgiving games earned close to 99 million combined viewers last year, and we spent more than $5.2 billion on Black Friday shopping – on top of the billions we spent preparing for Thanksgiving itself. So if it isn’t tryptophan that puts you to sleep this Thanksgiving, it might be 12 hours of pigskin or an early wake-up call for a day of deal hunting.
Regardless of how you plan to celebrate Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday shopping season; we’ve got you covered. WalletHub took an in-depth look at Thanksgiving’s humble roots and how it has evolved over time in preparing this report. The infographic below is filled with all kinds of Thanksgiving facts, from how much we spend to how much we eat. The Ask the Experts section that follows features a panel discussion on Thanksgiving money-wasters and dining tips.
5 Thanksgiving Facts for 2023
- $325 Average person’s spending over the five-day Thanksgiving period.
- 10 Hrs. The length of time the average American male would need to spend on the treadmill to burn the 4,500 calories consumed at the average Thanksgiving meal.
- $949 Million Estimated amount Americans spend on Thanksgiving turkeys each year, with 40 million turkeys killed for the holiday.
- $26 Million Amount of property loss caused by residential building fires each Thanksgiving.
- 77% Share of people celebrating Thanksgiving who try to avoid having to talk politics at the dinner table.