By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
Stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and turkey are common-place foods that make up a traditional Thanksgiving meal, but how did turkey become the quintessential Thanksgiving food staple when it was likely absent in the “First Thanksgiving” meal, the often assumed origin of the holiday menu.
The “First Thanksgiving” meal was shared between pilgrims at Plymouth and the Wampanoag people in late 1621. Wampanoag likely brought deer for meat while the pilgrims provided wild fowl, which could have been turkey, but was probably ducks or geese, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
Fast forward to the 19th century when turkey began being featured in holiday meals. The reason for this was efficiency and common sense. The avian was plentiful, usually raised only for the meat — as opposed to cows or hens — and was typically large enough to feed an entire family, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
However, it wasn’t until 1863 when U.S. President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving an official American holiday that the turkey “became an inextricable and integral part” of the holiday’s observance when myths stemming from Sarah Josepha Hale’s 1827 book wherein she described a New England Thanksgiving featuring “a roasted turkey placed at the head of the table” connected the two in the minds of the American psyche, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
Today, modern breeding practices make turkeys both larger and cheaper, further cementing their place at family meals. Americans are expected to eat roughly 30 million turkeys on Thanksgiving Day, NPR reports.
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