The 30+ Best Symbols of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday that North American families celebrate. Thanksgiving is on the fourth Thursday of November in America and the second Monday of November in Canada. Celebrating the day of Thanksgiving in the autumn season is one of the best things because the weather is always perfect for a cozy dinner at home with your family members. But what about some other symbols of Thanksgiving?
Oftentimes these celebrations involve large dinners with turkey as the main course. But what many people don’t know is that there are a number of symbols associated with this holiday.
Here is the scoop on some of the best symbols of Thanksgiving!
What are Some Symbols of Thanksgiving?
1. A Turkey
2. American Beans
3. Football Games
4. Cranberry Sauce
5. A Curved Goat’s Horn
6. The Continental Congress
7. Bountiful Harvest
8. Mashed Potatoes
9. A Bald Eagle
10. Maple Sugar
11. The Month of November
12. Corn Cobs
13. Corn Husks
14. Thanksgiving Dinner
15. A Horn of Plenty or Traditional Cornucopia
16. Benjamin Franklin
17. Native Americans
18. Pumpkin Pie
19. White Corn
20. A Wishbone
21. A Fire Place
22. Autumn Leaves
23. European Explorers
24. Thanksgiving Table
25. English Colonists
26. Sweet potatoes
27. Gravy
28. Acorns
29. Sunflowers
31. A Coats of Arms
32. George Washington
33. Pumpkins
All About Thanksgiving Symbols
Turkey
Some people in the United States refer to Thanksgiving as Turkey Day. Turkey is a modern staple at a customary dinner table because a turkey is thought to be something that they ate as part of the first Thanksgiving dinner after pilgrims discovered a great store of wild turkeys.
Today, the turkey is a special symbol of Thanksgiving. During modern Thanksgiving holiday dinners, many people break the legendary turkey wishbone to bring good fortune.
Cornucopia
Some thanksgiving day symbols have meaning that dates back to times of Roman mythology or an ancient Greek legend. The cornucopia comes from a legend about the Greek god Zeus.
Ancient greeks believed that a baby Zeus nursed from a goat named Amalthea. This goat broke off her horn and gave it to Zeus as a sign of reverence, and the god cast the goat’s image into the sky, creating the Capricorn constellation.
The image of this horn-shaped container became the most common symbol of a harvest festival, particularly at European harvest festivals, overflowing with food. Now, they frequent a table of every household, often taking center stage during an American thanksgiving celebration.
Cranberries
Pilgrims learned about cranberries as a food item from the Native Americans. However, it is Dutch and German settlers who gave this fruit its name because the pink blossoms resembled the crane berry.
Cranberries are another one of many important symbols of the harvest festival. Many families count cranberries in the traditional foods that they eat during harvest celebrations during the holiday season.
Thanksgiving Basics
When we are in elementary school, many of us learn that we celebrate the feast of Thanksgiving because a group of the pilgrims befriended the indigenous peoples in North America. We also learn that the pilgrims’ new Native American allies taught them how to harvest crops and gather food to prepare for their first winter in the new world.
This first feast supposedly establishes a friendship between both groups. When harvest time came around they had a successful first corn harvest. So, there was enough food to share and Governor William Bradford invited Wampanoag Chief Massasoit.
Many believe that the first Thanksgiving feast was held at Plymouth, but the tradition from the past year continued on in the following years during the American revolution.
However, there are lots of things that we may not have learned about Thanksgiving. For example, the author of the song “Mary Had a Little Lamb” was a woman Sarah Josepha Hale. Sarah is partially responsible for having Thanksgiving become a national holiday during the Civil War, which she accomplished by writing letters to influential people like President Abraham Lincoln.
Final Thoughts
There is a lot of food preparation that goes into this major holiday, from main dishes like turkey and stuffing to dairy products like pie or whipped cream. If you have a good runner on your table and lots of food in your belly, you have a lot to be thankful for.
Enjoying your time with loved ones is the most important part of all traditional meals in the first place, so do not spend a long time stressing over the food. Just do your best and enjoy this American holiday!
There is no right choice on how to go about the celebration of Thanksgiving, but you can never go wrong with turkey, mashed potatoes, and your family!
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