The Surprisingly Strange
History of Thanksgiving
(and Other Turkey Day Trivia)
Dig into this collection of fascinating Thanksgiving reads while you’re waiting for dinner to cook.
Alex Dalenberg
Thanksgiving is probably a little different for most of us this year. But if it’s any consolation, the Great Zoom Thanksgiving of 2020 is actually part of a long tradition of autumnal weirdness. Lean into the strangeness (and impress your remote dinner guests) with this collection of surprising Thanksgiving histories, from how eels were served at the first Thanksgiving to the time that Mikhail Gorbachev cut a Pizza Hut ad on Thanksgiving Day.
The New Yorker
Massacres, myths, and the making of the great November holiday.
Smithsonian Magazine 
The history of the holiday meal tells us that turkey was always the centerpiece, but other courses have since disappeared.
Los Angeles Times 
In the runup to the Civil War, there was strong resistance in the South toward Thanksgiving itself.
History.com 
The
author of the children's poem "Mary Had a Little Lamb" was persistent
in arguing that establishing the national November holiday could help
heal wounds from the Civil War.
Smithsonian Magazine
The history of Cucurbita pepo has a surprising connection to the abolitionist cause.
The Atlantic
Before trick-or-treating came along, there was "Thanksgiving masking" and "Ragamuffin Day.”
The Washington Post 
This was, first lady Grace Coolidge later wrote, “no ordinary raccoon.”
JSTOR Daily
Tofu turkey was created in 1990, but some Americans celebrated Thanksgiving with veggie dishes over a century ago.
Atlas Obscura 
Before Friendsgiving, there was Franksgiving.
Vanity Fair
Come on a trip through America’s second-most absurd tradition, right after the Electoral College.
Rolling Stone
How John Hughes made a 1987 buddy comedy/road movie that doubles as a rare Turkey Day classic.
In 1997, the former Soviet leader needed money, and Pizza Hut needed a spokesman. Greatness ensued.
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