6 Things You Didn't Know About Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a very old American tradition, but its origins trace back to colonial times, and it wasn’t an official holiday for 200 years!

The story of Thanksgiving is often misquoted, so we did our best to have all the facts straight. However, if you know about anything we don’t, please let us know! History is complicated and sometimes we leave out an important detail lost in between so much information - some are even contradictory, as you will see.

But without further ado, here are 6 things you didn’t know about Thanksgiving - probably!

Thanksgiving Begins: The Turkey Rises

Despite being a famous representation, this painting has many inaccurate depictions. Source: Wikipedia — Despite being a famous representation of Thanksgiving, this painting has many inaccurate depictions. Source: Wikipedia

It’s not always clear when and where Thanksgiving originated, one could even argue it didn’t originate in the US. The first documented Thanksgiving took place in Massachusetts, 1621 (1), but it was hosted by European colonists, so it’s entirely possible these celebrations took place all over the country and on different times before the 1621 three-days-long feast that we call the real first Thanksgiving.

Thomas Jefferson hated the idea of Thanksgiving, calling it “The most ridiculous idea.” He wasn’t against the celebration though, he just didn’t like the idea of an official prayerful holiday, as this goes against what he believed: that the church and the state should be separate things. (2)

What’s so special about turkey anyway?

The first Thanksgiving dinner (that we know of) took place in 1621 (3) and at that time and place, supermarkets weren’t around much, so options were limited. Pilgrims and natives used what they could get by hunting and growing, and the turkey was a logical choice - it’s a large bird with plenty of meat to feed an entire family in one go. Duck and fish were also common, but those were slowly removed from the menu as time passed and tradition became stronger, leaving turkey as the main course of the Thanksgiving dinner.

However obvious the reasons why turkey was implemented on the menu and is the main course up to this day, some historians argue that no turkey was served on the first Thanksgiving - instead there was only deer, ducks, geese, lobsters and fish. (4)

You can thank this lady for the holiday

Depiction of Sarah Josepha Hale. Source: Recollections

Sarah Josepha Hale didn’t invent the holiday - in fact, it was already a tradition since the beginning of the republic - but she is credited as the one who convinced Abraham Lincoln to make Thanksgiving an official national holiday in 1863, after years of insistence to the five previous presidents (5). That was 200 years after the first Thanksgiving.

Sarah Josepha Hale is also remembered for writing the popular nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, and is sometimes referred to as the “Godmother of Thanksgiving.” There’s a lot to know about her, it’s worth checking out!

What’s up with the wishbone?

This tradition actually dates back to way before the first Thanksgiving, even before the republic. The Etruscans (ancient Italy) believed that chickens had oracle powers and could predict the future via certain rituals, some of which involved using their bones for granting wishes - hence the name. The tradition of the wishbone was adopted by the Romans, who would later pass it on to the English, who would eventually come to the Americas. And the rest is history.

The turkey is mightier than the eagle

Benjamin Franklin notoriously wanted the turkey to be the official bird of the United States instead of the bald eagle. He said in a letter: "I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country! The turkey is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America."

There is no spoon-I mean-fork

Yep, in 1621 we had access to fire, ships and libraries, but no forks - meaning the first Thanksgiving had no forks at all. The fork had already been invented by the Romans (sort of), but it didn’t become popular in Europe until the 18th century, and in North America, not until the 19th century. Go figure.

Did you know about any of these? Do you know any more cool Thanksgiving facts you can share with us? Let us know in the comments and follow us on Facebook for awesome articles daily!