Millions of people across the United States will sit down to a traditional Thanksgiving meal, including turkey, potatoes, squash, corn, and cranberries. These foods have become synonymous with Thanksgiving, but how did they end up on tables from Maine to California?
According toBruce Smith, senior scientist at theSmithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, much of what is eaten at Thanksgiving today came from Mexico and South America. “We can trace many of these foods up through the southwestern United States into other parts of the country,” he said. “Most likely this diffusion happened as a result of trading or other contact among American Indian tribes in this country.”
So, where did these Thanksgiving favorites come from? Smith shares some facts about the origins of the food on this holiday menu:
Turkey
- The turkey was domesticated twice, in central Mexico and in the southwestern United States. This domestication happened at the same time about 2,000 years ago. The southwestern domesticate disappeared, and the turkeys eaten today are derived from the Mexican domesticate.
- Domesticated turkeys made quite a journey to tables in the United States. They were most likely brought from Mexico to Europe and came to the eastern United States by Europeans when they settled the colonies.
Potatoes
- Potatoes were domesticated in South America (likely Peru) about 10,000 years ago. The Spanish probably took the potato from South America to Europe where it slowly became a staple crop.
- Like turkeys, potatoes also had quite a journey to the dinner table. Europeans likely introduced potatoes to the eastern United States when they settled there.
Squash and Pumpkins
- There are many species of squash and pumpkins grown today in the United States; the most common species (Cucurbita pepo) was also, like the turkey, domesticated twice—in Mexico and the eastern United States. Some common members of the speciesC. pepoinclude acorn squash, pattypan squash, and spaghetti squash.
- The orange-skinned “pumpkin” lineage ofC. pepo(what is carved as a jack-o-lantern) was the first plant to be domesticated in the Americas, about 10,000 years ago in Mexico.
- There was a second domestication ofC. peposquash in the eastern United States about 5,000 years ago. All of the yellow- and green-skinned summer squashes in the U.S., such as zucchini and acorn squash, were derived from a wild gourd that is still found in the Ozarks.
- Research by a team of archaeologists has revealed a curious connection between our traditional Thanksgiving dinner and the taste buds of prehistoric mammoths and mastodons.
Corn
- Corn (maize) was domesticated in Mexico more than 8,000 years ago. This important crop plant arrived in the southwestern United States by 4,000 years ago, and reached eastern North America at about 200 B.C.
- Maize is derived from teosinte, a large wild grass that has five species growing in Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.
Cranberries
- Cranberries are native to the United States, most likely coming from the New England area.
- The name is derived from “craneberry.” European settlers gave the berry this name because they thought the plant looked like a crane. In the 1600s, cranberries also were called “bearberries” because it was common to see bears snacking on them.
- American Indians were the first to use cranberries as food. They also used the berries as medicine and dye.
FAQs
According to Bruce Smith, senior scientist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, much of what is eaten at Thanksgiving today came from Mexico and South America. “We can trace many of these foods up through the southwestern United States into other parts of the country,” he said.
Where did Thanksgiving originate? ›
In Plymouth, Massachusetts, colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast in 1621 that is widely acknowledged to be one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations.
Where was the first Thanksgiving meal celebrated? ›
Although prayers and thanks were probably offered at the 1621 harvest gathering, the first recorded religious Thanksgiving Day in Plymouth happened two years later in 1623.
What was the inspiration for the Thanksgiving feast in the United States? ›
Giving thanks for a bountiful harvest are not new, but the modern day holiday in the US can be traced to a celebration at Plymouth in Massachusetts in 1621. This feast of thanksgiving was inspired by a good harvest, and the tradition was simply continued on.
What were the first 3 foods eaten on Thanksgiving? ›
But according to the two only remaining historical records of the first Thanksgiving menu, that meal consisted of freshly killed deer, assorted wildfowl, cod, bass, and flint, and a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.
What Thanksgiving foods were native to America? ›
Ironically, many Native American dishes have quietly been absorbed into what we see today as 'American' cuisine, many of which you'll likely enjoy this Thanksgiving: cranberry sauce, succotash, pumpkin and squash soups, corn and corn bread (and popcorn!), even mashed potatoes.
Where did Thanksgiving come from facts? ›
Here are nine fun facts about Thanksgiving to share around the dinner table.
- The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 over a three day harvest festival. ...
- Turkey wasn't on the menu at the first Thanksgiving. ...
- Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday on October 3, 1863.
Thanksgiving Wishes to Send as a Text
- From our home to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!
- Missing you this Thanksgiving! ...
- Wishing you an abundance of blessings, good health, and good times.
- Happy Thanksgiving! ...
- This text is full of hugs and kisses for everyone! ...
- Sending blessings for Thanksgiving and every day.
In the last week of Jesus' life, He met with His disciples in a large upper room where He shared the Passover meal with them. It was during this Passover meal that the Lord's Supper, the Eucharist, which means thanksgiving—was instituted.
When did we start eating turkey for Thanksgiving? ›
But like most of the Thanksgiving traditions we know today, turkey didn't become widely synonymous with that November holiday until the mid-19th century. This was largely thanks to the efforts of the writer and editor Sarah Josepha Hale, who became known as the “mother of Thanksgiving.”
President Abraham Lincoln had declared Thanksgiving a national holiday on the last Thursday in November in 1863 and tradition dictated that it be celebrated on the last Thursday of that month.
Why do we eat turkey and not chicken on Thanksgiving? ›
While live cows and hens were useful as long as they were producing milk and eggs, respectively, turkeys were generally raised only for their meat and thus could be readily killed. Third, a single turkey was usually big enough to feed a family.
What is the origin of the Thanksgiving celebration? ›
As the story goes, friendly Native Americans taught the struggling colonists how to survive in what the Europeans called the New World. Then everyone got together to celebrate with a feast in 1621. Thanksgiving 2022 would mark the 401st anniversary of that "first" American Thanksgiving.
Who inspired the first Thanksgiving? ›
For American culture, the story of the Pilgrims, including their “first Thanksgiving” feast with the local Native Americans, has become the ruling creation narrative, celebrated each November along with turkey, pumpkin pie, and football games.
What is Thanksgiving to God? ›
The concept of Thanksgiving can be traced back to the Holy Bible, where it represents a fundamental aspect of God's people. In both the Old and New Testaments, Thanksgiving emphasizes gratitude and praise to God for His many blessings.
Why is the turkey a symbol of Thanksgiving? ›
Some give credit for the turkey's preeminence to Sarah Joseph Hale, the “Godmother of Thanksgiving,” whose accounts of early New England celebrations emphasized a roast turkey and eventually became the model for the festivities adopted by the rest of the country after Abraham Lincoln declared it a national holiday in ...
What was served for Thanksgiving in the 1800s? ›
Erica Boynton, Remick museum program manager, says a typical New England Thanksgiving meal of the period included a rich assortment of simple, seasonal foods, with ample vegetables, wild game, fish and other meats — and, of course, several pies.
Why is corn a Thanksgiving food? ›
Edward Winslow, one of the founders of Plymouth Colony, wrote that the spring before Thanksgiving, the settlers planted 20 acres of Indian corn (also known as flint corn). The abundant crop was served for the very first time that fall, for Thanksgiving.
