Thanksgiving Symbols

Cornucopia is Latin for horn of plenty (cornu for horn and copia for plenty). The symbol comes from Greek mythology. There are several stories related to the horn of plenty, with Zeus being nursed by a goat (which was really a nymph) and accidentally breaking the horn. Milk started running out of the horn, and the divine presence of Zeus secured an infinite amount of it.

The image of the horn of plenty became a symbol of several gods in Greek and Roman mythology. Demeter (Ceres), Tyche (Fortuna), and Poseidon (Neptune) are only a few examples. Horns were used as drinking cups for thousands of years and are closely associated with celebrations and abundance. The horn of plenty is not much different. It can be filled filled with fruit, nuts, herbs, etc.

Cornucopia became a symbol of abundance and good harvest. Thanksgiving is a celebration of a good harvest, so the horn of plenty became its symbol.

While we don't know what kind of meat was on the table for the first Thanksgiving feast, we can assume there was some fish, venison, and fowl, but probably no turkeys. Turkey was popularized only in the 19th century with Northwood, a novel by Sarah Josepha Hale, where a whole chapter is dedicated to Thanksgiving celebrations with turkey as the main dish. She was also an editor of the Godey’s Lady’s Book, a pretty influential magazine, where she further promoted Thanksgiving as a holiday. Her efforts resulted in Thanksgiving being proclaimed as an official holiday in 1863.

Today, more than 200 million turkeys are raised every year in the USA only. About one-quarter is eaten on Thanksgiving. Another quarter goes on the tables on Christmas and Easter.

When Pilgrims reached the New World, they had all kinds of seeds with them. Yet, the conditions were harsh, and their crop were miserable. Thanks to cooperation with Native Americans, they became accustomed to corn, which soon became one of the main staples. Today, it's hard to imagine that people in the 17th century died of hunger, but food was really scarce, and portions were rationed. According to the legend, each member of the community could eat only five kernels of corn per day.

Each of these five kernels has a symbolic meaning. They represent Gratitude, Survival, Hope, Community, and Faith.

Pumpkins symbolize Autumn thanks to their lively Autumn colors. They make an impression by their size and versatile utility. We are already familiar with pumpkins from Halloween, but they are durable enough to last through both major celebrations in Autumn. While pumpkins play mainly decorative roles on Halloween, we prefer them mostly as food for Thanksgiving. Pumpkin pie is one of the traditional dishes, but there are dozens of other sweet and savory dishes with pumpkins out there. Even more - all kinds of gourds are welcome on the Thanksgiving table.

Beans definitely played an important role in the survival of the Pilgrims, but there is no evidence they served it at the feast, which inspired the holiday. One thing is for certain - they surely didn't eat green beans which are a warm-weather crop and obviously not available in November, even if they were grown.

Green bean casserole became part of the Thanksgiving menu only after 1955. The dish was invented by the Campbell Soup Company. They wanted to improve the selling of condensed cream mushroom soup and ordered their test kitchen department to create a recipe where condensed mushroom soup would be needed. Green beans were not the first choice (at least ham and celery were tested before), and the first experiments with green beans were not successful. The test audience hated the taste. Eventually, an addition of anions and soy sauce made a difference, and this easy-to-make dish soon became popular.

Why at Thanksgiving? There are probably two main reasons for that:

• it's easy to make ahead, which is perfect for the otherwise demanding Thanksgiving menu and hectic organization,
• it's green, which gives people some kind of consolation at otherwise highly caloric and low-quality nutritious Thanksgiving dinner.

Native Americans used cranberries for food, medicine, and dye. They were abundant in the 17th century and very likely on the menu of the first Thanksgiving. Cranberries may be quite helpful at digesting meat, and their benefits on the urinary tract (think about cold winters!) are a well-known and scientifically proven fact.

Still, the cranberry sauce we are used to today is pretty different. First of all, commercially grown cranberries are not of the same quality as wild ones. They are grown in water and mechanically harvested, which leads to damaged, unattractive fruit that is combined with sugar into jelly. Sure, it's still cranberry, but it's more of a product than fruit.

A pie has been associated with strong symbolic meaning for millennia. It represents abundance, comfort, love, satisfaction, and union. Pies are used as gifts and bring people together all over the world. The round shape of the pie suggests infinity and can be understood as a symbol of nature cycles.

A pumpkin pie, still the most popular dessert for Thanksgiving, with its orange Autumn color, suggests appreciation and gratitude for the harvest. While pumpkins, like we are used today, came to America only in the 18th century with English immigrants and became a part of the Thanksgiving menu a century later, there are records about early settlers making a similar dish with pumpkins. They filled hollowed pumpkin crusts with milk and honey and covered everything with hot ashes.

Of course, different kinds of pies are preferred by different people, but pumpkins are native to America, and the best (native) alternatives would be blueberry or pecan pies.

The participants of the first Thanksgiving (they didn't know that then) were Native Americans and settlers called Pilgrims. Pilgrims wore distinctive black hats, which are popular symbols of Thanksgiving. They were worn by men and women and were officially called capotains. But beware! The hats of the Pilgrims were plain, without decorative buckles, which were added only in the 19th century.

We don't know how the capotains of Pilgrims in Plymouth actually looked. They may be brown, not of black color, and maybe even with a rounded, not a flat top.

Mayflower is the name of the ship by which Pilgrims (and others) came to the New World. It's a recognizable symbol but not of high commercial value. It's even hard to find a picture of Mayflower in the vintage Thanksgiving cards. Still, it's fair to include it on the list. The picture above is from The Young Pilgrims, illustrated by Evely Stuart Hardy.

The colors of Thanksgiving are close to the colors of Halloween. Orange in different shades as the dominant and positive color of Autumn, is inevitable. Instead of black, different shades of brown are used in the decorative palettes. We can also hardly miss red.

Apart from the colors of fall leaves, green, blue, and purple are welcome additions (do not exaggerate)! Thanksgiving dinner has a very special status, so proper decoration is expected. Choose colors of napkins, centerpieces, candles, and elements wisely, and make this holiday unforgettable!

For illustrating purposes, we used vintage Thanksgiving postcards by Ellen Clapsaddle.