Why do people eat turkey on thanksgiving??

By Be Aww Girls

Thanksgiving is a feast! Festive meals tend to be big productions.

Before turkeys into Europe in the 16th C., other large birds - storks, herons, swans, peacocks, etc were the centerpiece of festive meals!

The problem with the large birds of the time was that they were not in abundant supply and were very difficult to raise as domesticated food animals.

Turkeys, on the other hand, were easy to raise. They ended up being cheaper than the other big birds and so replaced them in the marketplace.

The Pilgrims were already aware of turkeys before they even got on the Mayflower.

The menus that accompany feasts - religious or civic - tend to be conserved over time. Turkey as a festive food is just one of them.