With just less than three weeks to go until Thanksgiving, you might very well wonder where all of the traditions and trappings we follow here in the United States came from.  Well fear not, turkey fans, for I am here to provide you with all of the useless knowledge that will make you the conversation specialist at this year’s holiday table.

 

Thanksgiving – the Date

Thanksgiving was actually celebrated on different dates in different states in the early 1800’s.  Believe it or not, it took a presidential proclamation from Abraham Lincoln in 1863 to make the date of Thanksgiving the last Thursday in November (the Confederate states wouldn’t recognize this date until the 1870’s).  Then, in 1941, it then took a joint resolution of Congress and the signature of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to permanently fix the date as the fourth Thursday of November (moving it from the last Thursday of the month to the date we all celebrate it today – this year it is November 24^th)[1].

Turkey on the Menu

Turkey has been a mainstay of the Thanksgiving menu since the very first celebration in 1621.  Willam Bradford mentioned in his book ‘Of Plymouth Plantation’ that there was a “great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many” for the harvest feast.  It’s so ingrained into our psyche that the National Turkey Federation has presented a live bird to the White House for its Thanksgiving menu each year since 1947 (they started officially “pardoning” the birds in 1989)[2].

Get Regional with the Sides

Side dishes are often influenced by regional cooking.  In the South, its baked macaroni and cheese or collard greens.  Italian-Americans often serve lasagna as a side dish.  For Puerto Ricans, it’s arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas).  In Baltimore, you often get sauerkraut with your turkey and mashed potatoes.

Have a Drink

Traditional drinks are also influenced by geographic area – and can be as varied as unfiltered apple cider or sweet tea.  Beaujolais noveau wine is often a popular choice served during the holiday because producers set the short release window of the wine to start one week before Thanksgiving each year.

Get Stuffed

Although there is no record of stuffing being served at the first Thanksgiving feast, over 50% of Americans stuff their turkey.  Stuffing dates back to the Roman Empire, where cooks during that era regularly stuffed rabbits, pigs, and other animals.  “Stove Top” introduced their famous boxed stuffing in 1972 and now sells over 60 million boxes during the Thanksgiving season[3].

Care for a Cranberry?

Native Americans used the cranberry in cooking, fabrics, pottery, and for medicinal purposes.  Nearly 20% of the cranberries consumed each year are eaten at Thanksgiving (almost 142 million pounds in 2009) and yes – it’s true – a ripe cranberry will bounce.

 

 

[1] Wikipedia contributors, “Thanksgiving,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thanksgiving&oldid=747431513 (accessed November 2, 2016).

[2] Wikipedia contributors, “Thanksgiving dinner,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thanksgiving_dinner&oldid=746666840 (accessed October 28, 2016).

[3] “Fun Thanksgiving Facts and Trivia,” The Reluctant Gourmet, http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/thanksgiving-facts-trivia/ (accessed 11/3/16)