The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States, and Canada is a large meal, generally centered around a large roasted turkey. The majority of the dishes in the traditional American version of Thanksgiving Dinner are made from foods native to the New World, according to tradition the Pilgrims received these foods from the American Indians. However, many of the classic traditions attributed to the first Thanksgiving are actually myths introduced later.

A very similar dinner is often served on Christmas and New Year's Day.

Historical Menus

The use of the turkey in the USA for Thanksgiving precedes Lincoln's nationalization of the holiday in 1863. Alexander Hamilton proclaimed that no "Citizen of the United States should refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day", but turkey was uncommon as Thanksgiving fare until after 1800. By 1857 turkey had become part of the traditional dinner in New England.

A Thanksgiving Day dinner served to the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1935 included: Pickles, green olives, celery, roast turkey, oyster stew, cranberry sauce, giblet gravy, dressing, creamed asparagus tips, snowflake potatoes, baked carrots, hot rolls, fruit salad, mince meat pie, fruit cake, candies, grapes, apples, French drip coffee, cigars and cigarettes.

Customs

Normally a Thanksgiving dinner in the United States bears a good deal of resemblance to another feast served at Christmas: the centerpiece at both is most often a turkey. However, the spirits of these occasions are usually different: the family and friends present at a Thanksgiving table are not expected to give gifts to each other, for example, plus the point of the meal is to reflect upon/be thankful for the things that have passed over the last year, not the celebration of the rebirth of the solar avatar of various religions. Guests may be asked to say grace or if not of the same religion as the host to bow his head in respect.

Turkey

Because turkey is the most common main dish of a Thanksgiving dinner, Thanksgiving is sometimes colloquially called Turkey Day or poultry day. The USDA estimated that 269 million turkeys were raised in the country in 2003, about one-sixth of which were destined for a Thanksgiving dinner plate. The average cost of an entire Thanksgiving feast was approximately $41 in 2007 . It has been estimated that 16-20 percent of annual turkey consumption in the US is attributed to Thanksgiving and as much as 30 percent of consumption occurs during the combined Thanksgiving to New Year holiday season .

Most Thanksgiving turkeys are stuffed with a cereal-based stuffing and roasted. Sage is the traditional herb added to the stuffing (also called dressing), along with chopped celery, carrots, and onions. Turducken, a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken, is becoming more popular, from its Cajun base in Louisiana. Deep-fried turkey is rising in popularity as well, requiring special fryers to hold the large bird, and reportedly leading to fires and bad burns for those who fail to take care when dealing with a large quantity of very hot oil. In more recent years it is also true that as the wild population of turkeys has rebounded in most of the US, some will hunt and dress their turkey in the woods and then freeze it until meal preparation.