George Washington made a proclamation in 1789 that Thanksgiving would be celebrated by Americans. It had been celebrated inconsistently, although President Abraham Lincoln declared a Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863. It wasn’t until 1941, under the leadership of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, that it became a national holiday.

While Thanksgiving has been celebrated in the United States since 1621, the menu has changed a lot since the days of the pilgrims.

Turkey is currently a staple at Thanksgiving gatherings, but turkey wasn’t so popular at the first Thanksgiving.  To be fair, they did serve some wild turkey, but it was much less popular than waterfowl, venison, ham, and lobster.  They actually ate a lot of seafood at the first Thanksgiving because they were on the east coast near the ocean, so they had an abundance of seafood such as lobster, clams, oysters, and fish.

Fruits and other berries were popular at the early Thanksgivings and can be seen today in the famous Thanksgiving cranberry sauce.  Fruit salads and fruit cakes were very popular at the first Thanksgiving meal, , although Americans definitely do not eat as much fruit as the pilgrims did.

One food that has never changed is the pumpkin.  Pumpkins and squash were a big deal for the pilgrims, and they still are part of everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving dessert, pumpkin pie.