8 Ashevillian Thanksgiving Facts

1. North Carolina was on the cutting edge of celebrating Thanksgiving in the south! North Carolina’s first Thanksgiving Day was November 15 1949, over 30 years before the rest of the country caught onto it. What can we say, offer a day just to eat and you have got one happy state of southerners!

2. North Carolina is still in the top seven states to consume turkey and the top six states to produce turkeys.

3. However, previously to 1949, Thanksgiving was considered a “Yankee” holiday and totally ignored by the south. Since embracing the simple beauty of Thanksgiving sweet potatoes and pecan pie have become staples of the national feast.

4. The first Thanksgiving was comprised of approximately 52 puritans and 90 Native Americans as opposed to the 87,236 people that live in Asheville!

5. In the mountains of North Carolina in the 18th century chicken, goose and turkey were relatively common for meals, so holiday fair was a little different. Meat pies and opossums caught in cages and fed sweet corn to improve the flavor were the special treat people hankered for around the holidays.

6.Moving away from opossum and meat pie, the south has started a new trend that has caught on rapidly with the rest of the country – deep fried turkey. Initially when my dad told me that we were going to be having deep fried turkey for Thanksgiving one year, well, I was absolutely horrified. However, with some seasoning in the oil, it can be pretty delicious!

7. Corn is one of the “traditional” Thanksgiving foods that’s grown naturally in North Carolina for years. It grows in a variety of colors associated with fall, however blue and white corn were especially revered as sacred by some Native Americans.

8. 50% of people still cook their stuffing in the turkey even though this drastically increase the risk of food poisoning

If you’re cooking Thanksgiving dinner for your family this year, don’t forget to check out our post on the awesome Farmers’ Market in downtown Asheville!If you’re just relaxing and letting someone else do the cooking, you can look at our post about what’s open on Thanksgiving Day! Either way, you’re in for a unique experience spending your holidays here in Asheville.