The tradition of eating turkey on Thanksgiving can be traced back to Sarah Josepha Hale and her advocacy for an annual Thanksgiving holiday, made official in 1863. Practical reasons like size, feed capacity, and ease of breeding also contributed to its popularity.
Certain holidays come with traditional foods, and for Thanksgiving , that's turkey. But why is turkey the centerpiece of this holiday? The tradition can be traced back to Sarah Josepha Hale and her advocacy for an annual Thanksgiving , which finally became official in 1863 under President Abraham Lincoln . Professor Troy Bickham explains that practical reasons also contributed to the turkey's popularity: it's larger than other birds, feeds more people, and makes a striking centerpiece.
Bickham also notes that turkeys were already common in the 16th century, and their ease of breeding and farming made them a staple in American diets by the 19th century. The exact menu at the first Thanksgiving remains unclear, but it likely included venison, shellfish, wildfowl, and crops taught to the colonists by Indigenous neighbors
Thanksgiving Turkey Sarah Josepha Hale Abraham Lincoln Troy Bickham History
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