The Meaning Behind Your 4 Favorite Thanksgiving Foods

Corn

Whether it’s on or off the cob, on the table or used for decoration, corn is an integral part of our Thanksgiving celebrations. The importance of corn can be traced all the way back to 1600s when it is told that settlers joined the Pequot Tribe for their annual Green Corn Festival. Thank you Pequot Tribe for inspiring us to give thanks on that day!

Lumpy Potatoes

I don’t know about you, but those lumps and just a bit of skin always make mashed potatoes that much tastier. Hopefully the American Indians agreed as we offered them our most important contribution—smallpox. Pass that gravy!

Cranberry Sauce

Served best straight out of a cold can, the maroon side dish continues to celebrate bravery. The Pequot War became one of the bloodiest wars American Indians ever fought. Seven-hundred men, women, and children may have been slaughtered, but Nana just loves tradition!

Turkey

Let’s hope Grandpa didn’t burn it this year! But in case he did, we can just look back a few hundred years to find the bright side. Those charred edged might just help us remember that the Puritans gave thanks for the Indians that they burned to death the day before. See Grandpa, everybody makes mistakes.

Did I miss your favorite? Maybe you can imagine how pumpkin pie, stuffing, or genocide connect to our proud national heritage!