The Illinois REALTORS®’ offices — including the Legal Hotline — are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. The offices will reopen on Mon., Nov. 28.
Thanksgiving began in 1621 as English colonists in Plymouth shared a harvest feast with native Americans known as Wampanoag. The two groups lived in peace until King Philip’s War in 1675.
Annual observances were popular in New England and closely tied to religion. The colonists celebrated successful harvests, military victories and other significant events.
Once the U.S. Constitution took effect, the Continental Congress declared an official day of Thanksgiving, though Southerners were slow to embrace it.
It became a national holiday in November 1863, to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt designated the fourth Thursday in November.
How much turkey trivia do you know?
- Turkeys became less valuable than chicken because they weren’t raised for eggs and the meat was cheaper as a result.
- Turkeys are the only poultry breed native to the Western Hemisphere.
- Wild turkeys can fly at up to 55 miles per hour.
- Wild turkeys sometimes spend nights in trees.
- Only male turkeys make the “gobble, gobble” sound.
- Benjamin Franklin advocated for the turkey to become the national symbol rather than the bald eagle.
Get more details from www.infoplease.com/turkey-facts and https://www.britannica.com/topic/Thanksgiving-Day.
