There was not always a choice of dark
meat or white meat after carving the turkey. These terms have
nothing to do with the color of the meat as they were euphemisms for
the leg and breast of turkey and other fowl. In the Victorian times,
the words “leg” and “breast” were considered fowl, so they awkwardly
decided to call the leg “white meat” and the breast “black meat.”
Did you know Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national
bird of the US. or that Abraham Lincoln issued a 'Thanksgiving
Proclamation' on third October 1863 and officially set aside the
last Thursday of November as the national day for Thanksgiving? He
was persuaded by Sarah Josepha Hale, an American magazine editor to
declare Thanksgiving a national holiday. She is also the author of
the popular nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb".
Showing posts with label Sarah Josepha Hale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sarah Josepha Hale. Show all posts
Nov 23, 2013
Thanksgiving Traditions Origin
The Pilgrim Thanksgiving
that happened in the fall of 1621 is the most popular reference to
the first Thanksgiving in the US. This is largely because of Sarah
Josepha Hale, author of the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
and one of the most influential women in American history.
She was particularly enamored with the Pilgrim event she had read about in a passage by William Bradford in 'Of Plymouth Plantation' as well as the particular Thanksgiving tradition which was somewhat common in New England at the time. She tirelessly campaigned for over 20 years to have Thanksgiving become a national holiday with a set date.
Through her highly circulated editorials, she was largely responsible for much of why we view the Pilgrim’s 1621 Thanksgiving how we do and was also largely responsible for many of the traditions we now tend to attribute to that Thanksgiving, even though there are actually only two brief passages that record what happened during the Thanksgiving celebration in 1621.
Things like the tradition of eating turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving were all popularized by her while it is unlikely that the Pilgrims ate any of those things.
She was particularly enamored with the Pilgrim event she had read about in a passage by William Bradford in 'Of Plymouth Plantation' as well as the particular Thanksgiving tradition which was somewhat common in New England at the time. She tirelessly campaigned for over 20 years to have Thanksgiving become a national holiday with a set date.
Through her highly circulated editorials, she was largely responsible for much of why we view the Pilgrim’s 1621 Thanksgiving how we do and was also largely responsible for many of the traditions we now tend to attribute to that Thanksgiving, even though there are actually only two brief passages that record what happened during the Thanksgiving celebration in 1621.
Things like the tradition of eating turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving were all popularized by her while it is unlikely that the Pilgrims ate any of those things.
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