Overview
- Historians point to Edward Winslow’s 1621 account of a three‑day harvest meal with the Wampanoag, noting the menu is unclear beyond venison and unspecified “fowle.”
- Sarah Josepha Hale’s 19th‑century advocacy helped standardize a national holiday and popularized turkey as the centerpiece, with Abraham Lincoln proclaiming it in 1863 and Congress fixing the date in 1941.
- A practical, media‑driven rise put turkey at the table, and the USDA reports more than 205 million turkeys were raised on about 2,500 U.S. farms in 2024 to meet holiday demand.
- Modern rituals remain entrenched, including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (since 1924), NFL games (since 1934), and the annualized presidential turkey pardon beginning in 1989.
- Contemporary commentary, including Cardinal Blase J. Cupich’s column, urges Americans to use Thanksgiving as a shared civic moment for gratitude across divisions.