When the Pilgrims and Wampanoag people shared a feast in late autumn 1621, it did not occur to them that they were celebrating a “first Thanksgiving.” And there’s no evidence they ate turkey. Yet by the late 19th century, most Americans associated these cultural images with the national holiday as it had been proclaimed by President Lincoln in 1863.
An estimated 45 million turkeys will be eaten today, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The big bird is the centerpiece at the table of a quintessential American holiday with its mythic connections to our national origins. In this episode, cultural historian Ruth McClelland-Nugent of Augusta University talks about how turkeys emerged as the main course from a long tradition of days of Thanksgiving in colonial America.
“The idea of a day of Thanksgiving was common in English culture. It was introduced heavily in the Reformation as a way to give thanks for a particular providence from God,” said Ms. McClelland-Nugent, who said that as the European settlement of North America expanded, so did local and regional celebrations in late autumn or early winter of Thanksgiving with a large feast as the centerpiece.
But it wasn’t until the mid-19th century when Sarah Josepha Hale, writing in Godey’s Lady’s Book, advocated for Thanksgiving as a national holiday. In her 1827 novel “Northwood,” a roasted turkey is placed at the head of the table in a chapter about a traditional New England Thanksgiving.
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