Turkey is the traditional dish for the Thanksgiving feast. In the US, about 280 million turkeys are sold for the Thanksgiving celebrations. There are no official reasons or declarations for the use of turkey. They just happened to be the most plentiful meat available at the time of the first Thanksgiving in 1621.

The first US Thanksgiving was held between September 21 and November 11, 1621 in Massachusetts by 50 Plymouth Pilgrims and their 90 Wampanoag neighbours. After that, Thanksgiving was held fairly randomly. Thanksgiving days were proclaimed annually by the US Congress from 1777 to 1783 which, except for 1782, were all celebrated in December. George Washington declared Thanksgiving in 1789 and 1795, and John Adams in 1798 and 1799. James Madison declared Thanksgiving twice in 1815. None of these were celebrated in the autumn.

In 1620, a boat filled with more than one hundred people sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to settle in the New World. This religious group had questioned the beliefs of the Church of England The Pilgrims settled in what is now the state of Massachusetts. Their first winter in the New World was difficult. They arrived too late to grow crops; and without fresh food, half the colony died from disease. The following spring, the Iroquois Indians taught them how to grow corn, a new food for the colonists. They showed them other crops to grow in the unfamiliar soil and how to hunt and fish.

Turkey, corn (or maize), pumpkins and cranberry sauce are symbols which represent the first Thanksgiving. Now all of these symbols are drawn on holiday decorations and greeting cards.

The use of corn meant the survival of the colonies. "Indian corn" as a table or door decoration represents the harvest and the fall season.

In 1988, a Thanksgiving ceremony of a different kind took place at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. More than four thousand people gathered on Thanksgiving night. Among them were Native Americans representing tribes from all over the country and descendants of people whose ancestors had migrated to the New World. The ceremony was a public acknowledgment of the Indians' role in the first Thanksgiving 350 years ago. Until recently most schoolchildren believed that the Pilgrims cooked the entire Thanksgiving feast, and offered it to the Indians. In fact, the feast was planned to thank the Indians for teaching them how to cook those foods. Without the Indians, the first settlers would not have survived.

The first meal eaten on the moon by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin was roasted turkey and all the trimmings!

91% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

Of the 300 million turkeys raised for consumption each year, one is sent to the White House for clemency. Each year, the President "pardons" the live turkey, which is sent to a farm to live out the rest of its days.

   

 

Scripts from: LISSA EXPLAINS ALL; Pumpkin, Cornucopia and Turkey Graphic from: BILLY BEARS PLAYGROUND(CLOSED); Midi from: LAURA'S MIDI HEAVEN

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Created 10/07/2000
Updated 11/07/02