Turkey

Last week (Nov 25, 2010) was Thanksgiving and no Thanksgiving feast is complete without feasting on a turkey. So what is the significance of a turkey and where did it come from?

Turkeys are native to America and were raised way back during the Aztecs and  the Mayan civilisation. The turkey has always been associated with Harvest and one of the native myths suggests that it was a turkey that gave corn seeds to a brother and sister and taught them the art of growing and harvesting. Turkeys besides being associated with harvests, are also supposed to have helped in the creation of the world, as per the native mythology.

Amongst the Mesoamericans (i.e. Mexico and Central America), a turkey has a very high status. It was believed that a turkey was the personification of the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca, who was a warrior and a magician who could see the future in his mirror. Tezcatlipoca was a deity with negative shades, but when he changed himself to Chalchiuhtotolin, which meant, a jewelled turkey, he became the god of good fortune. If Tezcatlipoca could lead humans to self-destruction, as Chalchiuhtotolin, he could rid them of all the ills that led them to destruction.

The turkey in mythology also represents the Sun god. According to Hopi creation myths, it was a male turkey that tried to raise the sun in the sky, and in the process burnt its head, which till today is bald!

A turkey is one animal whose every body part can be used. Besides its meat and eggs, its colourful feathers are used for decorations and its bones are used in making whistles.

Why turkey for Thanksgiving? Well in America, it was a native bird, easily available besides being considered lucky for all the above reasons. However, the eating of turkey spread in other parts of the world too, when turkeys were imported by other countries after trade-routes were opened. During the early 16^th century, the King of Spain had ordered that all returning ships should bring with it, five pairs of turkeys and thus started the practice of rearing turkesy outside America. Due to their ease of rearing and availability in abundance, they soon replaced geese during the celebratory feasts across Europe. Today a roast turkey is common for Christmas meals in UK too.  

According to a survey, on Thanksgiving, 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a major festival in US and the neighbouring countries. The celebrations are set on the fourth Thursday of November when family and friends sit together for meals, and thank for all that they have. So what are the origins of this day?

Not much is known except that on this day, the Pilgrims of Plymouth, which is in the modern-day Massachusetts, had their first dinner with the native Wampanoag Indians, way back in 1621. What was so special about the dinner?

The legend goes that the Pilgrims who were new to the place were struggling to settle and first harsh winter saw some deaths and they were left with little food with them. The people were not ready or prepared for the harsh conditions and all they brought with them, seeds, etc. were not conducive for the region. It was then that Squanto, a native Wampanoag Indian, who taught the Pilgrims the art of planting and growing grains and seeds in the land which was rugged. Squanto is even supposed to have given them seeds, besides teaching them how to sow and harvest. The first harvest was cause for celebration, and the Pilgrims hosted a feast for Squanto and his tribe as a thanks giving feast. Similarly, the next year was a bigger and better harvest, leading to another big feast, and thus started the Thanksgiving feast. However, it took many more years for it to be declared a national holiday in US.

So the origin of Thanksgiving was a Harvest festival. Over time, it has earned different connotations to the festival. Earlier people sat together on this day to thank god for the bountiful harvest that they would have reaped, and today, they sit together and thank all for all that they have.

Thanksgiving has an association with the Greek Mythology, that of the Horn of Cornucopia or the Horn of Plenty. This is a part of all Thanksgiving feasts and is a horn shaped container, filled with goodies. The traditional cornucopia was a goat’s horn filled to the brim with fruits and grains, which is part of the harvest.

According to the Greek Mythology, Zeus was brought up by Amaltheia, a goat who suckled the baby Zeus in a cave, while he was in hiding till he was ready to come out in public. Once when baby Zeus was playing with Amaltheia, he broke one of her horns by accident. Zeus felt very sorry for doing this and returned the horn but with magical powers that he had, and it is said that whosoever had the magical horn would get all that s/he wished. The cornucopia is also a symbol of fertility, a sign of abundance bounty.

Finally, no mention of Thanksgiving is complete without a mention of the Turkey. On this day, having a turkey for the feast is a must. Why a turkey, well we will keep it for another day!