GREENSBORO, N.C. — As Turkey Day approaches, people are turning to Google to get all their Thanksgiving questions answered. Google Trends has a whole page dedicated to Thanksgiving-related searches, from the top questions about the holiday to the side dishes and desserts! Here are some of those top searches and answers.
1. When is Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November every year. This year, it will be on November 24. Happy Turkey Day!
2. When is Thanksgiving break?
You'll have to look up your specific school district for this one. But for Guilford County Schools, students are off Wednesday, Nov. 23 through Friday, Nov. 25. Wednesday is a teacher work day.
It's the same for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. Students on traditional calendars are off Wednesday through Friday. Wednesday is a leave day for teachers.
3. What is Thanksgiving?
Most people have come to know Thanksgiving as a day we spend with family and loved ones to gather, eat, and give thanks for the blessings in our life.
According to the Library of Congress, the tradition of Thanksgiving can be traced back to the practices of early English colonists. As early as 1621, the Puritan colonists of Plymouth, Massachusetts set aside a day of thanks for a bountiful harvest.
On November 26, 1789, President George Washington designated the day as a Day of National Thanksgiving. The next president who would deliver a Thanksgiving proclamation was Abraham Lincoln in 1863. In October of his third year in office, Lincoln invited Americans to "set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise.”
4. What restaurants are open on Thanksgiving?
There are many restaurants in the Triad offering dine-in and carryout options on Thanksgiving.
Here's a look at what's open and what's closed on Thanksgiving.
5. How to make stuffing for Thanksgiving
According to Google Trends, North Carolina seems to be searching for recipes for sausage stuffing (or dressing - however you like to call it!).
Here are the top three sausage stuffing recipes we found on Google:
6. How to cook a turkey
Most cooking sites recommend that if you roast a turkey at 325 degrees in the oven, plan on 15-17 minutes of cooking time for each pound of an unstuffed bird. If you stuff your turkey, plan for 20-22 minutes of roasting per pound.
So, if you have a 15-pound turkey (unstuffed), that means you'd bake the bird for about three hours and 45 minutes.
- Read: How to spatchcock a turkey
- Read: How to fry your turkey
7. When did Thanksgiving become a national holiday?
President Abraham Lincoln encouraged Americans to recognize the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving, beginning in 1863. A few years later in 1970, Congress passed legislation making Thanksgiving (along with Christmas, New Year's Day, and Independence Day) a national holiday.