History of the First Thanksgiving & Why Turkeys are Eaten.

For many Americans, one of the biggest meals of the year is just around the corner. But do you know about the first Thanksgiving and why turkeys are eaten? Here is a brief Thanksgiving turkey history:

All About Thanksgiving Turkey History & More

Learning about Thanksgiving

Many Americans grew up learning how the Pilgrims and Native Americans feasted on Thanksgiving day sharing the best of the fall harvest together in ceremonious and peaceful harmony.

As we have further educated ourselves as adults, we have relearned history.

The “pilgrims” and Native Americans were sadly not as harmonious as history wants us to believe. And, turkey was not the main star of the first Thanksgiving.

In fact, on the first “thanksgiving” documented in 1621, the meal consisted of domestic meats such as fowl (likely duck or goose), venison, corn, nuts, and shellfish. And, the concept of giving thanks to harvest meals was not a new concept for neither the Europeans nor Native Americans.

The food history of turkey

While turkey was not the star of the first thanksgiving meal, wild turkeys are native to the Americas. It was first domesticated in Central America, and it was the European explorers who brought the birds up to North America and across the Atlantic back to their home countries.

Aside from its large size to feed a large gathering, it is also interesting to note that on a farm turkeys were raised purely as meat, whereas chickens also provided eggs, cows produced milk, and pigs were common meat. Therefore, turkeys gained popularity as the main dish for special occasions.

The history of Thanksgiving Day

As for the date of Thanksgiving, historians detail that it was Sarah Joseph Hale, best known as the author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, advocated for Thanksgiving as a holiday for 17 years.

She finally caught the attention of Abraham Lincoln who, after the Civil War, declared it a national holiday in 1863 on the last Thursday of every November.

Later in 1939, Franklin Roosevelt moved the official date up a week and that’s been the date of Thanksgiving ever since.

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